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Was It One Spreadsheet or Several Files?

McKinnon's changing descriptions leave open whether he saw one linked workbook or several unrelated administrative files.

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On this page

  • How Mc Kinnon described the workbook in different interviews
  • Why linked officers, ships and transfers would matter
  • What the missing file structure prevents US from knowing

Introduction

Gary McKinnon consistently claimed that he discovered one or more spreadsheets containing references to personnel and transfers while browsing United States military computer systems in 2001–2002. However, no copy of the files, screenshots, filenames or metadata have ever been produced. As a result, the question is not what the spreadsheet proved, but what it may have contained based on McKinnon’s own changing descriptions over two decades.

Spreadsheet Layout illustration 1

His various interviews suggest three possibilities: that he saw a single Excel workbook containing multiple worksheets; that he encountered several separate but related administrative spreadsheets; or that later recollections combined different files into one memory. Because the underlying documents no longer exist for independent examination, none of these interpretations can be confirmed.[wired.com]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found | WIREDJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

Was It One Spreadsheet or Several Files?

The most striking feature of McKinnon’s story is that his description evolved over time without settling on a single file structure.

In the 2006 Wired interview, he described an Excel spreadsheet titled “Non-Terrestrial Officers” containing names, ranks and information about ship-to-ship transfers. That account gives the impression that all of the information appeared within one workbook or spreadsheet.[WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found | WIREDJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

Years later, however, McKinnon described something slightly different. In interviews summarised by WeLiveSecurity, he referred to tabs dealing with “material transfers between ships”, implying multiple worksheets inside a workbook rather than a single page of data. He also estimated that roughly eight to ten ship names appeared in those records.[WeLiveSecurity]welivesecurity.comOpen source on welivesecurity.com.

In the Project Camelot interview, the distinction changes again. There he speaks of:[projectcamelot.org]projectcamelot.orggary mckinnongary mckinnon

  • an Excel spreadsheet titled “Non-Terrestrial Officers”;
  • a list of names and ranks;
  • a list of ship-to-ship transfers;
  • fleet-to-fleet transfers; and
  • movement of materiel.

The wording does not clearly establish whether these were different worksheets within one workbook or several separate files viewed during the same browsing session.[Project Camelot]projectcamelot.orgOpen source on projectcamelot.org.

Because the recollections span many years, the differences are not necessarily contradictions. Someone recalling a complex directory of administrative files long afterwards might naturally alternate between describing a workbook, an individual worksheet and related documents without maintaining precise technical distinctions.

How McKinnon Described the Workbook in Different Interviews

Although details shifted, several elements remained remarkably consistent.

Across multiple interviews McKinnon repeatedly recalled:

  • a heading or workbook labelled “Non-Terrestrial Officers”;
  • a relatively short list of names and ranks;
  • transfer records involving ships;
  • unfamiliar vessel names that he believed were absent from public naval lists; and
  • no surviving copy of the spreadsheet itself.[wired.com]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found | WIREDJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

Other details became more specific only in later retellings. For example, McKinnon eventually distinguished “material” or “materiel” transfers from personnel transfers, suggesting logistics records rather than merely staff assignments. In military usage, “materiel” refers to equipment and supplies rather than personnel, so if that recollection is accurate the workbook would have resembled an administrative logistics document more than a personnel roster.[Project Camelot]projectcamelot.orgOpen source on projectcamelot.org.

Likewise, later interviews estimated approximately twenty to thirty officers and eight to ten ship names. Those figures do not appear in the earliest public accounts, making it impossible to know whether they reflect clearer memory or later reconstruction.[Project Camelot]projectcamelot.orgOpen source on projectcamelot.org.

Spreadsheet Layout illustration 2

Why Linked Officers, Ships and Transfers Would Matter

If McKinnon’s memory is substantially accurate, the significance lies less in any individual field than in how the information may have been connected.

An ordinary military workbook could plausibly contain several related worksheets such as:

Possible worksheetInformation McKinnon recalledPersonnelNames and ranksTransfersShip-to-ship or fleet-to-fleet movementsLogisticsMateriel or equipment transfersVessel referenceShip names or identifiers

A workbook organised in that way would represent a coherent administrative dataset rather than isolated notes. That internal consistency is one reason supporters have regarded his account as more compelling than a simple claim of seeing an unusual title.

However, there is an equally important limitation. None of the recalled fields included dates, command authorities, document classifications, unit identifiers, file paths or explanatory notes. Without those contextual elements, even an authentic spreadsheet would be difficult to interpret. Administrative databases routinely separate related information across multiple tables, abbreviate terminology and rely on internal reference codes that are meaningless outside their operational environment.

Consequently, even if the workbook genuinely linked officers, ships and transfers, its purpose could have ranged from routine logistics to planning exercises, training scenarios or classified operational administration. The surviving testimony alone cannot distinguish among those possibilities.[WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found | WIREDJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

Spreadsheet Layout illustration 3

What the Missing File Structure Prevents Us from Knowing

The absence of the original spreadsheet creates several important evidential gaps.

First, there is no way to determine whether “Non-Terrestrial Officers” was:

  • a workbook title;
  • a worksheet name;
  • a database export;
  • a report heading; or
  • simply one tab within a larger administrative file.

Second, no metadata survives. Investigators therefore cannot examine creation dates, authorship, revision history, directory location or linked files that might explain the spreadsheet’s purpose.

Third, there is no opportunity to compare the terminology against contemporary military software. Words such as “transfer”, “fleet”, “officer” and even “non-terrestrial” could have had specialised meanings within a particular organisation that differed from ordinary usage.

Finally, the inability to inspect the workbook prevents testing whether McKinnon’s recollections describe one integrated dataset or memories of several unrelated documents encountered during an extended search session. That distinction matters because a unified workbook connecting officers, ships and logistics would present a stronger internal narrative than disconnected administrative files viewed independently.

The Evidence Supports Possibilities, Not Conclusions

The available evidence allows a cautious reconstruction of what McKinnon believed he saw, but not verification of what actually existed.

His accounts consistently point towards administrative records involving personnel, transfers and ship names. Over time he expanded those descriptions to include workbook tabs and materiel movements, making it plausible that he remembered either a multi-sheet Excel workbook or several closely related spreadsheets.[WeLiveSecurity]welivesecurity.comOpen source on welivesecurity.com.

What cannot be established is whether those files documented an ordinary military process, a classified programme, a planning exercise or something else entirely. Because no copies, screenshots or contemporaneous notes survive, the workbook’s structure—and therefore much of its meaning—remains irretrievably unknown. McKinnon himself has acknowledged this uncertainty on several occasions, including accepting in interview that the material could conceivably have belonged to a military exercise rather than the covert programme he later suspected.[WIRED]wired.comufo hacker tells what he foundWIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found | WIREDJune 21, 2006…Published: June 21, 2006

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Endnotes

1. Source: wired.com
Title: ufo hacker tells what he found
Link:https://www.wired.com/2006/06/ufo-hacker-tells-what-he-found/

Source snippet

WIRED'UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found | WIREDJune 21, 2006...

Published: June 21, 2006

2. Source: welivesecurity.com
Link:https://www.welivesecurity.com/2015/12/08/gary-mckinnon-reveals-detail-on-nasa-data-breach-and-extraterrestrial-life/

3. Source: wired.com
Title: terrorist or ufo truth seeker
Link:https://www.wired.com/2006/04/terrorist-or-ufo-truth-seeker/

4. Source: projectcamelot.org
Link:https://projectcamelot.org/lang/en/gary_mckinnon_interview_transcript_en.html

5. Source: projectcamelotportal.com
Title: project camelot interviews gary mckinnon
Link:https://projectcamelotportal.com/2007/11/20/project-camelot-interviews-gary-mckinnon/

6. Source: theguardian.com
Title: I spent
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2007/apr/22/features.magazine7

Source snippet

Gary McKinnon | Life and style | The GuardianApril 21, 2007 — This article is more than 19 years old GARY MCKINNON This article is more t...

Published: April 21, 2007

7. Source: projectcamelotportal.com
Title: gary mckinnon hacking the pentagon
Link:https://projectcamelotportal.com/2006/06/09/gary-mckinnon-hacking-the-pentagon/

8. Source: projectcamelot.org
Title: gary mckinnon
Link:https://projectcamelot.org/gary_mckinnon.html

Additional References

9. Source: theguardian.com
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/p/xzd7y

Source snippet

July 26, 2008 — THE BRITON FACING 60 YEARS IN US PRISON AFTER HACKING INTO PENTAGON This article is more than 17 years old On the eve of...

Published: July 26, 2008

10. Source: theguardian.com
Title: Photo: Bruno Vincent, Getty Images Gary Mc Kinno
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/may/10/news.usnews

Source snippet

British hacker faces extradition to US | US news | The GuardianMay 10, 2006 — Image: Gary McKinnon in Bow Street [Input] Gary McKinnon ar...

Published: May 10, 2006

11. Source: theguardian.com
Title: Photo: Bruno Vincent, Getty Images Gary Mc Kinno
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/may/10/usa.september11

Source snippet

The humble superhacker | UK news | The GuardianMay 10, 2006 — Image: Gary McKinnon in Bow Street [Input] Gary McKinnon arrives at Bow Str...

Published: May 10, 2006

12. Source: youtube.com
Title: Hacking for UFOs and fighting for his life. Who is Gary Mc Kinnon? | Nord VPN
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OImdnvQx7sQ

Source snippet

Gary McKinnon UFO hacker The UFO Hacker – The Unbelievable Story of Gary McKinnon astris...

13. Source: youtube.com
Title: The Hacker That Found NASA’s Secret Space Fleet [Gary Mc Kinnon Interview]
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ttdlCa5ZCI

Source snippet

UFO Hacker Shares New Secrets | Gary McKinnon...

15. Source: youtube.com
Title: Gary Mc Kinnon Interview
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XacevWeOkHg

Source snippet

Hacking for UFOs and fighting for his life. Who is Gary McKinnon? | NordVPN...

16. Source: youtube.com
Title: UFO Hacker Shares New Secrets | Gary Mc Kinnon
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SOTGFj7BwI

Source snippet

UFO Hacker Gary McKinnon talks about NASA Hack...

18. Source: youtube.com
Title: UFO Hacker Gary Mc Kinnon talks about NASA Hack
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKfKIUXhqSM

Source snippet

Gary McKinnon Interview - BBC...