27 Feb 2001
Swiss man imprisoned after distributing virus CD ROM
German newspapers have reported that the Swiss Supreme Court has
sentenced a man to two months in prison after he was found guilty
of distributing a CD-ROM containing viruses.
The 30 year old man had earlier been fined 300 Swiss Francs by
the Court of Zurich. On February 22 2001 the Swiss Supreme Court
confirmed the Zurich court's ruling, increasing the fine to 5000
Swiss Francs and imposing an additional sentence of two months
imprisonment.
It is understood the CD-ROM contained instructions and source
code for writing viruses.
"Why on earth is a 30 year old grown man distributing CDs
containing virus-writing instructions?", said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "Maybe it's time those
people who write and distribute viruses took a long hard look at
themselves and grew up. Sentences such as these prove that the
authorities are prepared to take action against those who
distribute malicious code."
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