A British man who admitted hacking into American government and NASA computer networks has lost an appeal against being extradited to the US.

Gary McKinnon is being accused of committing a malicious crime - "the biggest military hack of all time" - while he has maintained that he was only seeking information on UFOs.

According to the BBC, the authorities have warned that if he does not plead guilty his crime may be treated as an act of terrorism and carry a longer sentence.

Mr McKinnon's solicitors issued a statement which said their client "is neither a terrorist nor a terrorist-sympathiser" and added that US officials "have stated that they want to see him fry".

The statement continued: "The consequences he faces if extradited are both disproportionate and intolerable."

Meanwhile, Mr McKinnon has told ComputerWeekly.com that he feels let down by his country.

He has stated that he will now launch an appeal to the European court of human rights.

recent survey for Connect found that one in ten companies has lost important data as a result of a backup failure. The company has now developed a unique online backup service - http://www.connect.co.uk/services/online_backup – for SMEs to ensure they can survive any disaster