The majority of IT professionals say NASA hacker Gary McKinnon
should remain in the UK, according to a poll of 550 UK IT workers
carried out by Sophos.
The poll reported that seven out of 10 respondents believe
McKinnon should not be extradited to the US, despite losing his
case in the High
Court earlier today.
When Sophos conducted a similar poll in 2006, the IT community
was divided over McKinnon's fate (52% against extradition, 48%
for), but the latest figures show that there has been a surge in
public support for the self-confessed hacker.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said:
"The consensus is that it is perhaps inappropriate to make an
example of a UFO conspiracy theorist when serious crimes are still
being carried out by financially-motivated hackers, who are
stealing identities, sending spam and creating botnets."
McKinnon was arrested seven years ago after allegedly hacking
into computers belonging to the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force,
Department of Defense and NASA. The computer enthusiast from North
London claims he only broke into the computer systems to hunt for
top secret information about anti-gravity propulsion systems and
alien technology, which he believed the authorities were hiding
from the public.