MSBlast suspect pleads guilty

[NeonWizard]

A 19-year-old Minneapolis man pleaded guilty Wednesday to unleashing part of the MSBlast worm attack that wreaked havoc on the Internet last summer.

Jeffrey Lee Parson admitted creating the "MSBlast.B" variant, also called "teekids," by modifying the original version of the worm and adding a backdoor that granted him control of infected computers, federal prosecutors said.

"Sending out a computer worm may be viewed as a harmless prank," John McKay, a U.S. attorney, said in a statement. "But the damage to individual computer users is very real, and the penalties are also very real."

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 12 in Seattle before U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman. Parson could face between 18 and 37 months in prison on the charge of intentionally causing damage to a networked computer, plus possible restitution in the millions of dollars.

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[Irongeek]

Your title is a bit misleading, this is just a guy who modified the original Blaster.

[hexadecimal]

yea it kinda is....but still very cool to know

[Vorlin]

I'd infect about 20,000 pcs with his version of MSBlaster and tell him he can go free with nothing over his head after he's cleaned them up entirely and installed the MS patch that fixes it.

[Irongeek]

The kid was kind of dumb for modifying and re-releasing it in the first place, much less putting his net handle on it (which apparently was easy to trace back to him).

[fyrewall]

just a kid after fame and attention

[muert0]

Looks like he's going to be getting plenty of attention.

[Irongeek]

And a lost of court costs. They say the mind of a 19 year old is not fully formed, I know when I was that young I did not always think of consequences of my actions.

[fyrewall]

I am only just fully starting to think of the consequences of my actions and understand them and mature up and I am 21

[MrLinus]

Seemed a fitting location to put this.

Source: CNN

Teen sentenced for 'Blaster' worm variant

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A teenager was sentenced Friday to 1 1/2 years in prison for unleashing a variant of the "Blaster" Internet worm that crippled 48,000 computers in 2003.

Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, of Hopkins, Minnesota, will serve his time at a low-security prison and must perform 10 months of community service. He had faced up to 10 years in prison, but the judge took pity on the teen, saying his neglectful parents were to blame for the psychological troubles that led to his actions.

"(The Internet) has created a dark hole, a dungeon if you will, for people who have mental illnesses or people who are lonely," U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said. "I didn't see any parent standing there saying, 'It's not a healthy thing to lock yourself in a room and create your own reality."'

Defense lawyers said Parson feared leaving the house and his parents provided little support. He pleaded guilty last summer to one count of intentionally causing or attempting to cause damage to a protected computer.

Parson created a Blaster version that launched a distributed denial-of-service attack against a Microsoft Windows update Web site as well as personal computers. Blaster and its variants, also known as the LovSan virus, crippled networks worldwide.

Parson's lawyers said he has made great strides since his arrest. They also credited him with making a Seattle School District video warning teens of the dangers of Internet vandalism.

Parson apologized to the court and to Microsoft, saying, "I know I've made a huge mistake and I hurt a lot of people and I feel terrible." He will still have to pay restitution to Microsoft and to people whose commuters were affected in an amount to be determined at a hearing next month.

Parson was charged in Seattle because Microsoft is based in suburban Redmond.