17-year old nerd living with parents write virus from basement
So basically this kid is the embodiment of every stereotype about hackers. Too bad for all those unconventional beauty queens and alfafa farmers out there who are trying to shed this image.
Hey, this could be a good way to make money! First, get some geek friend to write a virus:
According to varous sources, the boy, who lived at home and whose father owns a computer business, belonged to a small group of programming enthusiasts who had encouraged him to develop the worm to refine his skills.
Then turn him in before anyone else can:
According to Slattery Watch, the rapid arrest of Sasser’s author was triggered by Microsoft, which had been approached by informants looking for a reward. Microsoft has a $SU5 million anti-virus war chest and had announced rewards for the authors of other viruses – but had not made a public announcement of any reward in the Sasser case.
Step 3, profit!
When the informants told Microsoft, the company passed the information on to appropriate authorities in what was described as a a “co-ordinated multinational law enforcement effort” and, Slattery Watch says, “happily handed over $US250,000, the same amount it was offering for the capture of the creators of the MSBlast, Sobig, and MyDoom viruses.”
Sure, they don’t say who the informants really were, but the “friends” that encouraged him to write it are most likely to know that kind of information.
Yep - his pals get rich whilst he turns into another ‘hacker’ in jail.