Creator Of Sasser Worm Faces Trial

The author of the Sasser worm, the Blaster-clone that appeared just over a year ago (May, 2004), is facing trial. Even though he was caught only a short while after the worm was released (see this timeline for a summary of the worm), due in part to the Microsoft bounty, he's only now facing trial.

BERLIN (AP)--A German teenager who authorities say confessed to creating the Sasser computer worm last year will face trial in July on charges of computer sabotage, a state court said Friday.

Sven Jaschan, 19, was arrested at his home in northern Germany in May of last year after Microsoft Corp. received a tip from an informant seeking a reward. Jaschan's worm had raced around the world, exploiting a flaw in the company's Windows operating system.

Computer sabotage carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Source: Creator Of Sasser Worm Faces Trial, by The Associated Press, posted on May 27, 2005.