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| Sven Jaschan has confessed to writing the Sasser
and Netsky worms, and was arrested following a
tip-off to Microsoft |
A report
published by Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses
against viruses and spam, has revealed that 70% of virus activity
in the first half of 2004 can be linked to a German teenager.
Sven Jaschan, 18, is the self-confessed author of the Netsky and
Sasser worms which hit internet users hard in the first six months
of the year.
Just two of Jaschan's viruses, the infamous Sasser worm and
Netsky-P, account for almost 50% of all virus activity seen by
Sophos up until the end of June. Counting Jaschan's other released
variants of the Netsky worm, the total figure accounts for over
70%.
"For a single German teenager to have such an impact on computer
security is simply staggering," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "If one of Jaschan's friends had
not informed Microsoft about his identity then the situation may
have been even worse."
Jaschan was arrested at his home in
the sleepy village of Waffensen, North Germany in early May after a
tip-off to Microsoft, but his viruses continue to infect computer
users and have an impact.
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| Following his arrest, Sven Jaschan was
interviewed and photographed by Stern magazine |
"It's like Pandora's box - once released viruses can carry on
spreading even if the author has been caught or realises he has
done something wrong," explained Graham Cluley. "However, because
Jaschan was under 18 at the time he released the viruses it's
possible he will escape a stiff sentence if found guilty."
The Sasser worm hit home computer users and companies worldwide,
including the South
African government, Taiwan's national post
office, and the UK's coastguard
service.
Sophos believes that it is possible that some of Jaschan's
fellow college students may still be charged in connection with
assisting him in the writing and distribution of the viruses.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.