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wawadave Warrior Obsessed

Joined: 25 Jan 2004 Last Visit: 24 Jul 2009 Posts: 3448 Location: Illegitimus non carborundum
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:13 am Post subject: MSBlast.B Worm Writer Pleads Guilty |
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MSBlast.B Worm Writer Pleads Guilty
The hapless Minneapolis teenager who unleashed the MSBlast.B
variant of the MSBlaster worm pleaded guilty to the crime yesterday in
the US District Court in Seattle. He'll be sentenced in November.
Jeffrey Lee Parson admitted that he created MSBlast.B last summer
by adding a backdoor to MSBlaster. Federal prosecutors say that the
backdoor, which gave Parson control of compromised computers, made the
worm far more dangerous than its predecessor. "Sending out a computer
worm may be viewed as a harmless prank," US Attorney John McKay said
yesterday. "But the damage to individual computer users is very real,
and the penalties are also very real."
Parson pleaded guilty to "intentionally causing damage to a
networked computer" and will likely be sentenced to 18 to 37 months in
federal prison. He could also face millions of dollars in damages.
Federal authorities arrested Parson in August 2003, about 2 weeks
after his worm infected tens of thousands of computers. He was easy to
catch because the code for his worm included a variation of his online
persona, teekids. _________________ RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd |
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sadiebee Warrior
Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Last Visit: 24 Apr 2005 Posts: 74
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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Can't decide how I feel on this one.Usually,I wouldn't hesitate to see the hapless teen do 35 years in Sing-Sing..
He's hardly E-Crime's answer to Burke and Hare, is he?Besides which the original writer is still at large.
You can't go around setting up backdoor access on other peoples' computers-that's not in question.Punitive measures need to be enforced.I can't help thinking that the kid is being turned into a scapegoat,though.
There are far more nasty characters out there doing far worse things online-there are also far more destructive viruses,too.
The Authorities didn't have to work too hard to bust him-by their own admission.Perhaps the Law needs to be re-defined in order to deal with this type of offence.
At the end of the day,the kid has certain "talent" with computers.He doesn't appear to be a violent,deranged maniac who needs to be imprisoned for reasons of Public safety.In fact,I'm inclined to think a regular Prison would utterly destroy him-probably make him ten times worse.
Just tag him and make him do community service teaching Technologically-Challenged "noobes" how to send e-mails,install firewalls etc...Or send him on a five-year HijackThis! apprenticeship..
...or something along those lines.. |
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DeleterFX Warrior

Joined: 25 May 2004 Last Visit: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 259 Location: Maine
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| sadiebee wrote: |
| There are far more nasty characters out there doing far worse things online-there are also far more destructive viruses,too. |
Just because they havent caught the worse characters, doesn't mean he shouldn't be in trouble...I mean, they're not STOPPING all searches for these other guys just because they caught this kid. _________________ You've Been Deleted
CCSP Website
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sadiebee Warrior
Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Last Visit: 24 Apr 2005 Posts: 74
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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| sadiebee wrote: |
| You can't go around setting up backdoor access on other peoples' computers-that's not in question.Punitive measures need to be enforced. |
Forgive me,I thought I had that covered.In no way was I suggesting he shouldn't be in trouble.
A smart Defence Barrister could probably argue that Blaster (and all variants thereof) were 100% preventable,since in this instance the critical patch actually preceeded the first rpc exploit.Even activating XP's inbuilt firewall would've offered protection.
I am sorry for expressing my misgivings about this case.I did not mean to cause any offence. |
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DeleterFX Warrior

Joined: 25 May 2004 Last Visit: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 259 Location: Maine
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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Oh haha, I think my statement was the more misconstrude (my fault entirely). I was just making a statement about that one line. I fully understood the rest of it. I should have said something
You've offended nobody. Just know that in any discussion on this board EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinions. The only things we ask are that no personal attacks are put upon people. well within the guidelines of this forum
Mrgreen means I'm HAPPY ^ _________________ You've Been Deleted
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scatamousche Warrior

Joined: 31 May 2004 Last Visit: 22 Feb 2011 Posts: 70 Location: Gainesville, Florida USA
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 9:01 am Post subject: A proper sentence |
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Dear Sadiebee & Deleter,
A sentence of between 18 and 37 months, huh? I think 3 years is about right for the amount of damage he caused and we'll take off a month for making it easy to catch him.
Scat |
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