Hacker: U.S. defense sites poorly secured

A British hacker facing possible extradition to the United States says poor security was a major factor in his ability to have wandered through the IT systems of some key defense establishments.

Gary McKinnon, who is accused of hacking and causing damage to federal defense systems, also said that his actions, far from intending to cause harm, all started as an innocent attempt to prove that the U.S. Defense Department knows of the existence of extraterrestrials.

In an interview with ZDNet UK, McKinnon, who is out on bail pending an extradition hearing later in July, said that he was “frightened” to find U.S. defense systems were open to “people from all over the world.”