According to US authorities, McKinnon's hacker activities caused damages for US$800 000 (£483 300), and if extradited and convicted in the USA, McKinnon’s lawyers fear the hacker could face up to 70 years in prison.

Key to McKinnon’s appeal case is his diagnosis with Asperger’s Syndrome, which according to his mother in an interview with BBC Radio 4 on the morning of 31 July, means he does not understand social consequences of his actions and that he was obsessed with UFOs at the time.

Security industry supports McKinnon

A poll conducted by IT security and data protection firm Sophos among 550 IT professionals, revealed that 71% believe the NASA hacker should not be extradited to the USA despite the high court’s verdict this morning.

“McKinnon has had tremendous support from hackers and ordinary people throughout this sage – but what is truly staggering is the support he has received from the IT community”, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. “The consensus is that it is perhaps inappropriate to make and example of a UFO conspiracy theorist when serious crimes are still being carried out by financially-motivated hackers, stealing identities, sending spam and creating botnets.

“Of course a strong message must be sent out to hackers that their activities are unacceptable, but there is arguably a difference between McKinnon and cybercriminals who are in it for the money”, Cluley added. “The question is, how many more appeals do McKinnon and his numerous supporters have left before his unwilling departure from Heathrow airport.”