Microsoft will work with law enforcement to track down writers of worms, viruses and other malicious code, and is ponying up US$5 million to fund the search.
Microsoft is claiming that its US$250,000 reward was responsible for the Sasser author's arrest, but experts say money alone will not stop the virus and spam problem.
A German judge on Friday handed down a suspended sentence of one year and nine months to the teenager who admitted he created last year's Sasser computer worm.
A year ago, the author of the MSBlast computer worm taunted Microsoft with a message in the fast-spreading program: "billy gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!!"
Jeffrey Lee Parson pleaded guilty last week to unleashing part of the MSBlast worm attack that wreaked havoc on the Internet a year ago. He got off easy.
Microsoft will work with law enforcement to track down writers of worms, viruses and other malicious code, and is ponying up US$5 million to fund the search.
A year on, and the company's US$1 million tip-off program has nabbed just one (alleged) virus writer. Is it a bust?
Microsoft's US$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.
Attorney Hemanshu Nigam says virus writers "ought to think twice before they hit the send button."
Chasing Ballmer in Sydney
Where's Ballmer? In this video, ZDNet.com.au journalist Liam Tung chases Steve Ballmer around the stree… Watch it now
NBN needs workers on board
D'Ascenzo: Read p23 of security review
Opening the floodgates on missing drives
'At The Whiteboard' Video Series
Click here to learn more about Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V technology.
Click here for more.
CXO's Unplugged - Real Business Insight
Phil Dobbie interviews business leaders to reveal their thoughts on various management challenges.
Click here to see the latest video.
Printer Superguide
Looking to buy a printer? Our superguide rates the latest printers and shines a light into the industry.
Click here for more.