| Page: 1 | Rating: Unrated [0] |
Teenager Arrested In 'Blaster' Attack
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Nuclear replied on Sat Aug 30, 2003 @ 5:01pm |
 Coolness: 2749630 | [ edition.cnn.com ]
(CNN) -- An 18-year-old high school student suspected of creating a version of the virulent "Blaster" Internet attack was described by a neighbor Friday as "a computer genius," but not a criminal. Federal agents arrested Jeffrey Lee Parson of Hopkins, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, on Friday morning on a charge of "intentionally causing or attempting to cause damage to a computer." Parson, described as 6-feet-4-inches tall and 320 pounds, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Susan Nelson in St. Paul on Friday afternoon. She ordered him held under house arrest and forbade him from using his computer or the Internet. His next court hearing is scheduled for September 17 in Seattle, Washington, where the case was filed. "He's smart on the computer, but I cannot believe he was doing any hacking," neighbor Bill McKittrick told The Associated Press. Court papers show federal agents searched Parson's home August 19 and seized seven computers. During an interview with an FBI agent, court papers say, Parson acknowledged changing the original "Blaster'' worm and creating the "Blaster.B" version. "With this arrest, we want to deliver a message to cyber-hackers here and around the world," said U.S. Attorney John McKay in Seattle. "Let there be no mistake about it, cyber-hacking is a crime. ... We will investigate, arrest and prosecute cyber-hackers." Widespread worm The damaging, viruslike infection, known as "Blaster," LovSan" and "MSBlast," was unleashed on the Internet weeks ago. Some experts said it has infected more than 500,000 computers across the globe and has quickly become one of the most widespread computer worms this year. "It's definitely been one of the top worms we have seen," said Steven Sundermeier of antivirus vendor Central Command. "It's been a huge nuisance. Because of the traffic it generates, it brings networks down." The worm replicates itself repeatedly, eating up computer capacity. It does not damage data or programs. Computer security experts say worms can spread quietly and rapidly because they often don't arrive as e-mail attachments, making it more difficult for computer users to take note of the infection. Court documents allege that Parson's version of the worm infected at least 7,000 computers. Investigators say they were able to track him down after interviewing the person who hosted Parson's site, [ t33kid.com ] The site, which the FBI says used to list the code for at least one virus, appeared to contain no content Friday. All versions of the fast-spreading "Blaster" took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s popular Windows software. Experts urged computer users to install a free patch offered on Microsoft's Web site after the software giant acknowledged the vulnerability July 16. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Sat Aug 30, 2003 @ 5:31pm |
 Coolness: 201940 | shit that guy looks like trouble ! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» errorizE replied on Sat Aug 30, 2003 @ 5:59pm |
 Coolness: 61555 | man that sucks. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Mali replied on Sat Aug 30, 2003 @ 7:37pm |
 Coolness: 202830 | ahahha he is fat |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» El_Presidente replied on Sat Aug 30, 2003 @ 9:30pm |
 Coolness: 300040 | 320 pounds is a lot |
Teenager Arrested In 'Blaster' Attack
| Page: 1 |
[ Top Of Page ] |
Post A Reply |
You must be logged in to post a reply.
[ Top Of Page ] |
