German Teen Charged with Creating Sasser

nomoreself writes "Sven Jaschan, only 18 years old, has been indicted by prosecutors in Verden, Germany for allegedly releasing the well known Sasser worm. The PC World article has the details, including the fact that Microsoft's $250,000 reward offer was responsible for informants' coming forth with Jaschan's name, and that Jaschan has actually already confessed to writing several versions of Netsky, as well as the worm in question. Surprisingly enough, the 143 victims that have filed charges are only claiming $158,000 worth of damages." You might remember when he was first arrested back in May.

Comments

Fixed Link

[Xeo 024]

Fixed link to May story.

Damages in Germany

[Florian Weimer]

The damages are so low because you have to prove in court that you actually lost the amount of money which you claim as damages. Over here, we don't have punitive damages.

Re:i'm reminded of "catch me if you can"

[SnakeStu]

...a brilliant criminal is just someone who's skills are being expressed in the right forum, but in the wrong direction...

This is a potentially-dangerous oversimplification. From what I recall, Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) was no dimwit, but -- given the social and political views expressed in his "manifesto" -- would you want to employ him in some manner in hopes of improving postal security? There's potentially much more to a criminal's mind than lack of a socially-acceptable avenue for using his/her skills.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Put a face to the name

[mixmasterjake]

Don't know why but I am always curious to see a picture of people in the news. There don't seem to be too many of this guy. Probably because he was not 18 and the regulations of the media or whatever. Anyway, I managed to find this one. enjoy...

http://www.sabah.com.tr/2004/08/05/dun112.html

Re:Give him a blindfold and cigarette, hand me a w

[bigberk]

Give me a fucking break. The 18 year old writes a mediocre virus and you're all up in arms... how about this fucking company (a.k.a. Gator) that has been compromising millions of computers (trespassing, breaking and entering, whatever) for profit? Don't fool yourself, one's a kid being stupid, the other's a profitable company and they're both doing the same thing.

Re:"The System"

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't believe me? Check where the US is headed. Hell, Western Europe can't even hold socialism together

Where is the US headed again? A future of terrorist attacks and increasingly ineffective police state? Where internal terrorism causes more trouble than external (McVeigh, Anthrax, abortion clinic bombings, Olympics bombing, LA riots)? Where politicians are bought and paid for by the new feudal^H corporate overlords? Have fun!

Re:Smarts?

[nyri]

You'd think kids smart enough to do something like this would be smart enough to get caught before their 18th birthdays.

I know you are joking, but it doesn't matter when he was cought. The only thing matters is when the crime was committed.

Re:What's with you guys and prison?

[Scarblac]

but what is the deal with Americans and prison rape?

Apparently, the problem of prison rape is so real in the US, that it is actually one of the worst aspects of going to jail. 1 in 10 males in prison are raped, according to this fact sheet.

Being from Europe (like I assume you are), this sort of thing is completely unbelievable, but there you are.

Re:What's with you guys and prison?

[shawn(at)fsu]

As a criminology student, we went to a state prison in Fl. A muscular inmate said something to the extent of "In jail you don't have to worry about becoming gay, the other inmates make that choice for you"

It is a large problem in institutions, both men's and women's, although in women's prisons they often tend to form whole families, with two taking on the role of parents and other taking of the role of children. It was really fascinating to study.