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Berlin (pte033/06.07.2005/15:21) - The German teenager who is on trial for creating a worm that sabotaged the Internet in May last year confessed to all charges, and now faces the verdict.
Sven Jaschan, 19, a resident of the German town of Waffensen when he committed the crime, faces a jail sentence of up to five years or community service for unleashing a nasty worm that infected computers running Microsoft Windows 2000, NT and XP operating systems.
Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com caught him after offering a 250,000 euro reward. Jaschan was turned in by a fellow student.
Jaschan, who has an apprenticeship at a software security firm, created the Sasser and Netsky worms that switched off computers automatically and forwarded a virus via email. The damage caused amounted to about 130,000 euros and affected Delta Airlines in America, Australian railway controllers, the European Commission in Brussels, Goldman Sachs and the British coastguard.
Unlike a virus, a worm doesn't have to travel through an E-Mail but can spread by itself to any unprotected computer linked to the internet.
Due to having been only 17 at the time of the crime, Jaschan may receive leniency in the form of community service. The verdict is expected to be given tomorrow.
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