Arrests and Prosecutions

First published: June 2004

At the beginning of May, an 18-year-old computer enthusiast called Sven Jaschan was arrested by German Police in connection with writing and distributing the Sasser worm. Microsoft credited its reward scheme for the arrest but later reports suggested that the informants were also under suspicion. Sven is also believed to be connected with the Netsky worms:

• Suspected Sasser worm author caught; could trigger more arrests, says Sophos Computer virus bounty leads to Sasser arrest
• Person who tipped off Microsoft about Sasser author also under suspicion? Sophos comments
• MS' anti-virus bounty success
• Police probe Sasser informant

The other side of the Atlantic, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have charged a 16-year-old youth in connection with the Randex worm.

• Suspected author of Randex computer worm charged in Canada, Sophos reports

At the same time, Taiwanese Police arrested a 30-year-old, Wang Ping-an, for creating and distributing a Trojan horse known as "Peep" which allowed remote access. Peep is claimed to have been used by Chinese hackers to access and destroy data on Taiwanese computers.

• Suspected Trojan horse author arrested in Taiwan, Sophos comments

Near the end of May, the "Buffalo Spammer" was sentenced to a minimum of 3.5 years in prison for 14 counts of identity theft and forgery.

• Spammer sent to the slammer! Prison for man who sent 825 million emails, Sophos reports