When British hacker Gary McKinnon gained access to NASA files he did not expect to find evidence of alien life.
But he claims to have seen thousands of images stored on the space agency’s system including one of a cigar-shaped alien spacecraft.
The 56-year-old computer whiz says he found the photos between February 2001 and March 2002 when he broke into 97 US government computers.
The hacker believes NASA is covering up evidence of alien life and was shocked at the amount of pictures being hidden away.
A lengthy legal battle began once Gary's findings were shared and the Brit was even threatened with extradition and prosecution.
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Speaking to The Sun about his findings, Gary explained his initial shock and disbelief at uncovering what he believes is proof of aliens visiting Earth.
He said: "It's a fact that there are objects we don't understand flying around in our skies, it's also a fact that there are scientific, intelligence and military departments that study these objects.
"I was absolutely gobsmacked and those folders had thousands more images.”
When word spread about Gary’s findings the situation escalated and prosecutors in the US wanted him jailed for up to 60 years.
He was arrested in 2002 and also in 2005 at the request of the US and authorities said the cost of fixing the problems he caused amounted to more than $700,000.
It was agreed in 2006 that Gary would be extradited from the UK, but this led to years of appeals and a campaign to prevent it.
In October 2012 former home secretary Theresa May blocked the extradition on account of Gary’s Asperger's syndrome.
Current Labour leader Keir Starmer was director of public prosecutors at the time and two months later announced that Gary would not face prosecution in the UK.
Gary avoided legal action and brought attention to the issue of governments potentially covering up evidence of aliens visiting Earth.
But why was Gary looking at NASA files in the first place?
Former NASA employee Donna Hare claimed satellite images were often scrubbed of UFO evidence at the Johnson Space Center.
Gary had heard about this claim and was looking to verify Donna’s account.
When he accessed the NASA files, Gary claims he saw four folders named: filtered, unfiltered, processed and raw.
However, his 56k dial-up internet connection slowed him down and he managed to get just one picture from the folder before he lost access - an image of the cigar-shaped spacecraft.
The issue of aliens visiting Earth made headlines in America last week as a congressional meeting was held about UFOs .
The first meeting of this kind in more than 50 years revealed that reports of 'unidentified aerial phenomena' have doubled in the last year.
It also concluded that the US government wants to know more about what’s out there in space.
This was welcome news for UFO theorists, especially those who believe that aliens have already been in contact with mankind.
But Gary is not convinced that the event is significant or will lead to further information about alien life being shared.
He said: "[The hearing is] not significant at all for disclosure, these hearings, discussion panels and the like are never fruitful for disclosure.”
Gary’s belief is that evidence of UFOs is being hidden in the US.
This could be because the technological advancements of alien crafts are too advanced for humans to comprehend.
It could also be because technology has been extracted from mystery objects which the government wants to hide.
Gary maintains that his hacks caused no harm and the fact that he was able to break into NASA machines is because they used unsecured versions of Windows.
While undisputed proof of alien life has yet to be found, the work of people like Gary raises important questions about what governments around the world may be keeping back from the public.
NASA was contacted for comment by The Sun.
