A west Suffolk man charged in America with hacking the US army, NASA and other federal agencies’ computer systems has had his UK police bail extended.

Lauri Love, of Stradishall, near Newmarket, was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) in October under the Computer Misuse Act.

After being questioned by officers he was released until this month, pending further inquiries.

A spokeswoman for the NCA said the 28-year-old social activist, who had previously lived in the Lowestoft area, has now been re-bailed until May 7.

Love could face an extradition battle with the authorities over the charges in the US.

After his arrest reports claimed Love and alleged co-conspirators – believed to be in Australia and Sweden – stole information about government employees, including military service members, by hacking into government networks and leaving behind “back doors” through which they could return to get data.

An indictment served in a US court included pieces of instant message conversations that Love allegedly had with his partners.

In one, he is said to have written: “Ahaha, we owning lots of nasa sites.(sic)”

In another exchange, he said: “This ... stuff is really sensitive”, according to prosecutors.

Love has been charged by US authorities, but only arrested by British investigators.

In the past Love has taken part in protests for Occupy, the global “anti-greed movement”.

After Love’s arrest police removed computer equipment from Love’s home as part of the inquiry.