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| Dan Dumitru Ciobanu is said to have admitted
spreading the virus. |
The case of a Romanian man charged with spreading the W32/Blaster-F worm is
reported to have begun yesterday.
First charged September last year, 24 year-old Dan Dumitru
Ciobanu, the alleged author of Blaster-F - a very similar version
of the notorious Blaster-A worm, one of the most damaging computer
viruses of 2003 - showed up in court in the Romanian city of
Iasi.
Romanian authorities have commented in news reports that Ciobanu
admitted to modifying the original Blaster virus by switching the
names of folders and replacing the original message with some
Romanian text. Translated into English, it reads:
"Don't go to the Hydrotechnics faculty!!! You are wasting your
time... Birsan, your pension awaits!!! I urinate on the
diploma!!!!!!"
This text and other clues in the code may have assisted the
authorities in finding Ciobanu.
Ciobanu is said to have claimed that the virus spread itself
because he tested it while his computer was connected to the
internet.
"Virus distribution is costly, damaging and illegal, and guilty
parties can face serious consequences for their actions," said
Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. "Romanian
authorities have an opportunity in this trial to make a clear
statement that cyber crime will not be tolerated."
If found guilty, Ciobanu faces between three and fifteen years
in prison. The case is set to continue on April 6.
Last month, a Minnesota teenager suspected of authoring an
earlier variant of the Blaster worm was accused of launching other
internet attacks.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.