Microsoft reward snags suspected Sasser author

Dom · May 9, 2004, 11:28 AM

Microsoft's $5 million fund for rewarding informants for leads on virus attacks has snagged its first success with the arrest of a man in Germany who has confessed to the release of the Sasser worm, the software giant said Saturday.

In what the company called a "coordinated multinational law enforcement effort," information provided to Microsoft by informants led local authorities to arrest the 18-year-old unnamed resident of Rotenburg, Germany, only a week after the original Sasser virus had been released.

"Within 48 hours of the informants coming forward, our investigators and the German police were able to identify the perpetrator of the Sasser virus and to take him into custody," said Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft. "This individual is responsible, we believe, for all four variants of the Sasser virus."

The arrest brings a quick end to the latest worm incident. The week-old worm has slowed its spread, as companies clean up existing infections. The worm and its three known variants have compromised hundreds of thousands of computers running Microsoft Windows, though some estimates put the number of infected systems in the low millions.

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Source: C|net

May 9, 2004, 11:28 AM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Microsoft reward snags suspected Sasser author Microsoft's $5 million fund for rewarding informants for leads on virus attacks has snagged its first success with the arrest of a man in Germany who has confessed to the release of the Sasser worm, the software giant said Saturday. In what the company called a "coordinated multinational law enforcement effort," information provided to Microsoft by informants led local authorities to arrest the 18-year-old unnamed resident of Rotenburg, Germany, only a week after the original Sasser virus had been released. "Within 48 hours of the informants coming forward, our investigators and the German police were able to identify the perpetrator of the Sasser virus and to take him into custody," said Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft. "This individual is responsible, we believe, for all four variants of the Sasser virus." The arrest brings a quick end to the latest worm incident. The week-old worm has slowed its spread, as companies clean up existing infections. The worm and its three known variants have compromised hundreds of thousands of computers running Microsoft Windows, though some estimates put the number of infected systems in the low millions. Read More... ___________________ Source: C\|net