Sven Jaschan, the German teenager arrested for the Netsky and Sasser worms has been formally charged with causing damages of US$157,000 to four specimen victims: three German city Governments and a broadcaster that were disrupted by the Sasser worm. If he is tried in a regular court, he may be sentenced with up to 5 years in prison, however, he was under 18 at the time of the offences, so he may be tried in a juvenile court and be sentenced accordingly.
Jaschan has also become something of a celebrity; the popular German magazine Stern has interviewed him, a recent version of Mydoom contained his photograph, and a website to solicit donations for him was started (though that seems to have collapsed due to incompetence). Following the Stern interview, Securepoint, a German security software developer, made him a job offer. Lutz Hausmann, the technical director at Securepoint, said, "He is a young kid, who did bad things but I think he deserves a second chance."
Yui Kee's Technical Director, Allan Dyer, commented, "The most damaging effect is that Jaschan is becoming a hero to the 'computer underground', encouraging other young people to do the same, to become famous. It is useful to understand the motivations of virus writers, and reformed criminals should be able to get a rewarding job, once their debt to Society is paid, but Jaschan is a self-confessed criminal, awaiting trial. Stern and Securepoint appear to be motivated by the publicity opportunity, without regard for the wider good of Society."
