Teenager admits to unleashing internet worm

In somewhat breaking news, The Mail and Guardian Online is reporting that Sven Jaschan, the alleged author of the Sasser worm, has confessed in court. Today is the first day of his trial in Germany for creating and releasing the Sasser worm, which was found spreading in the wild in May, 2004. Thanks in part to a large reward sum, he was implicated by an anonymous person and police then found enough evidence to bring charges:

A German teenager confessed on the first day of his trial on Tuesday to creating the internet Sasser worm that waylaid millions of computers around the globe last year, a court official said.

The spokesperson for the tribunal, Katharina Kruetzfeldt, said that Sven Jaschan, now 19, admitted during the closed-doors hearing in this northern city to unleashing the destructive program in the spring of 2004.

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He is now facing charges including sabotage, data manipulation and disruption of public administration.

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Jaschan, whose parents own a computer service company, now works for a German security software firm called Securepoint, which specialises in defences against viruses and worms.

A company representative said Jaschan will remain an employee regardless of the outcome of the trial.

Source: Teenager admits to unleashing internet worm, Julia Deppe. The article goes on to say that a verdict could come as early as Thursday, thanks to this confession.

UPDATE: The story has hit almost every major news outlet, and one of the better stories on the subject is from the Scotsman, entitled Boy who nearly crashed the world.