Slashdot Mirror
Zotob and Mytob Worm Authors Arrested
An anonymous reader writes "The Washingtonpost.com is reporting that two men have been arrested for allegedly authoring and releasing the "Zotob" and "Mytob" worms. The first Zotob, released Aug 14 - just 4 days after Microsoft released a fix for the hole it exploited, infected systems at many major news outlets. Mytob remains one of the most pervasive worms on the 'Net today." From the article: "Moroccan authorities, working with the FBI, arrested Farid Essebar, 18, a Moroccan national born in Russia who went by the screen moniker 'Diabl0.' Arrested in Turkey was Atilla Ekici, aka 'Coder,' age 21. Both individuals will be subject to local prosecutions, the FBI said." Update: 08/26 20:56 GMT by Z : Nana Mous wrote to mention an eWeek blow by blow account of Microsoft's response to the worm. Very interesting read.
In the interest of stimulating more informed discussion, here is a link to a press release from Microsoft commending the Turkish and Moroccan authorities, as well as the FBI, for their prompt arrest of the suspects.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Atilla, you don't need a cool alias - you already have one!
2+2=5 for extremely large values of 2
You know how it is. When you're young, it's hard to keep your worm to yourself.
Best Windows Freeware
what would someone that age get out of releasing something that would cost so much damage?? i realize you get the whole '3Y3 PWN3D J00R 4SS' effect, but still.
:)
and also, i guess this shows more than russia has some awesome programmers
last tid bit:
Moroccan authorities, working with the FBI, arrested Farid Essebar, 18, a Moroccan national born in Russia who went by the screen moniker "Diabl0."
who the hell uses the term 'screen moniker'??
removing their virii and others as well as great software such as CoolWebSearch and their ilk all day EVERYDAY of their sentence.
If I was either of the two suspects I would be crying my eyes out and demanding to be tried and jailed in the US instead of the "Local prosecution". Their best jails would likely not come up to the level of our worst.
"GET / HTTP/1.0" 200 51230 "-" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; Setec Astronomy)"
they had apparently commented the code: //.. @uthors: Farid Essebar, Atilla Ekici
Maybe it's just me, but /. should really think about implementing a "crime" section for posts such as this... I don't believe that the arrest of a virus creator really falls within the realm of "Your Rights Online"...
It's a shame that these idiot kids can't make a program that every computer [that runs Windows anyway] could use, and then when they get the urge to explot a Windows hole, they'd have a payload that would do more than cause reboots and crashes, and could do something useful like calculate something for medical science, patch the hole they exploit without doing damage, or play a podcast with a good message.
ANYTHING. The lack of creativity in today's vandals is just pitiful.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
I think it's interesting that when these worms were originally introduced, and started first infecting machines, how the media made such a big deal about how quickly after the security hole was announced the worm was unleashed. I find it a bit more interesting the speed with which law enforcement is able to nab the creator of such programs. It used to be, "We don't know where in the hell to start!" to now it's more like "When can we pick this person up and how are we going to prosecute them here or there."
Just my thoughts.Generation Trance: What generation are you?
How on earth do they find these people?
Paul Grosfield - the quicker picker upper.
The worm also is thought to have temporarily disabled the systems that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security uses to screen airline passengers entering the United States.
Oh so the airport screening machines are on the internet, are they? I feel safer in the hands of people as competent as the DHS already...
Or more likely, this is just another piece of DHS propaganda designed to enphasize how dangerous those virus writers are. So dangerous they can disable our precious airport security systems! Terrorists!!
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
It is interesting that the U.S. government's FBI agency has become a world-wide police force.
--
Trying to make one book explain all of life makes some people crazy enough to kill.
Microsoft Assisted Worm Investigation Microsoft's Internet Crime Investigations Team supported the investigation with law enforcement immediately following the release of the two worms. Microsoft provided technical information and analytical support to the FBI on this case, which was then shared with Moroccan and Turkish authorities.
Daily News http://newsblaze.com
Pointing at the emperor and throwing rocks at his balls are two very different things. They could of just pointed. They went the rocks at balls path.
Happy Birthday, Joshi.
Imagine that a clothing company uses very shoddy materials and cuts corners in its production, yet they are popular enough that 9 out of 10 people will be wearing that brand of clothing. The clothes are crap, sub-standard, and you just know that if people realized this, the company would either improve, or people would buy their clothes elsewhere. To that end, you walk down a busy street and grab a handful of cloth every which way, easily ripping the shirts off 9 out of 10 women who pass by you.
Should you be jailed for "merely" demonstrating this weakness?
-paul
Pistol caliber is like religion: everyone has their favourite, and theirs is the only right choice.
How is this wrong? People like this are keeping software developers on their toes. I say good on them...
Couldn't you make the same case for people shooting cops or driving drunk? In the first case it will spur body armor manufacturers to create more effective armor. In the later it may lead to safer cars?
The Luddites were ahead of their time.
Damn, now I want to know what that subject line says...
#1, most countries have laws against hacking/viruses/etc. Hence the reason they are being prosecuted locally. They broke a law in their country so it'll be handled there. However #2, law enforcement around the globe cooperates. We don't want criminals to be able to escape prosecution simply be conducting crimes across national lines, or fleeing to another country.
So, what probably happened here is what happens all the time, the FBI had evidence that one of the authors was Moroccan so they got a hold of Moroccan police and gave them the information they had. Moroccan police investigated and have now arrested a suspect.
I fail to see the problem here.
Turkey and Morocco are amongst America's most trusted allies. Turkey is member of NATO, and Morocco was granted by the US the status of most important ally outside NATO, and we have a free trade agreement with Morocco as well.
Oh, and btw., America's oldest friendship treaty (non broken) with a foreign nation was with... right: Morocco. Signed on our side by Thomas Jefferson himself.
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
I'm assuming you didn't read any of the articles above.
The exploit was for a patch MICROSOFT HAD ALREADY RELEASED. They were merely taking advantage of the hole that Microsoft revealed by making the patch available.
I fail to see how these guys deserve anything but the punishment they are getting.