The study, released today to mark the 66th anniversary of the Roswell incident (Google celebrates it with a Roswell Google Doodle) was undertaken at this year's Infosecurity Europe conference and exhibition at London's Earls Court. For 66 years now, conspiracy theorists have believed that a space ship crashed at Roswell, New Mexico; and that it contained extra-terrestrial life forms.
Conrad Constantine, research system engineer at AlienVault, isn't taking sides (although a company statement light-heartedly notes that the transistor – key to the evolution of the modern computer – was invented shortly after the Roswell 'crash'). But he does believe that the Roswell controversy is a lesson in being open-minded.
“I’ve said for years," he explains, "that it’s important to have an open mind and a challenging disposition when it comes to working in IT and in particular securing the organisation. Someone who can imagine the ‘what next’, and not be swayed by disbelievers, will be better prepared."
This open-mindedness seems to be growing – slightly. A similar survey at RSA 2012 shows an increase of just a couple of percent in the number of believers. "Something’s fuelling this mind change", adds Constantine. "Whether Roswell did or didn’t happen, is not the issue, it’s all about being open to possibilities. The truth is out there.”
But maybe the transistor was invented not by extra-terrestrials but by intra-terrestrials. Russian website Internet Chronicle claims to have been told by Edward Snowden that the NSA accepts the existence of UFOs, but that, "As it turns out, the most credible and inexplicable sightings are of vehicles that have been spotted leaving the sea floor at hydrothermal vents and directly entering solar orbit..."
The president apparently receives daily briefings. According to Internet Chronicle, Snowden said, "Analysts believe their technology to be so far advanced that we stand little chance of survival in any potential war. The general sentiment is that we are but ants from their perspective, so there is little chance they would empathize or attempt to communicate with us, and the current contingency plan is to detonate nuclear weapons in deep caverns to ‘sting’ the foe we have no hope of destroying in hopes it would discourage further attacks.”
The best alien jokes are always told with a straight face. Especially on the anniversary of Roswell.