KBell Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Minnesota teenager known online as "teekid" was arrested and placed on electronic monitoring Friday for allegedly unleashing a version of the "Blaster" computer worm that infected thousands of computers. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Richard Nelson told Jeffrey Lee Parson not to access the Internet or any other network connection as a condition of his release. He did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance. Parson, a physically imposing 18-year-old, admitted during an interview with the FBI (news - web sites) and Secret Service agents that he had modified the original "Blaster" infection and created a version known by a variety of different names, including "Blaster.B.," court papers said. At least 7,000 computers were affected by Parson's worm, prosecutor Paul Luehr said Friday. Collectively, different versions of the virus-like worm, alternately called "LovSan" or "Blaster," snarled corporate networks worldwide, inundating more than 500,000 computers, according to Symantec Corp., a leading antivirus vendor. Experts consider it one of the worst outbreaks this year. Parson is the first person arrested in connection with the attack. Investigators would not comment on whether any other arrests were imminent. His next hearing was scheduled for Sept. 17 in Seattle, where the case was being investigated. He faces one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Tom Heffelfinger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said the case will be turned over to a grand jury to decide whether more charges will be filed. "This kind of prosecution should be a warning shot across the bow of hackers," Heffelfinger said. "We're serious about it, and we're coming after you." In court, the high school senior wore a T-shirt that read "Big Daddy" on the front and "Big and Bad" with a grizzly bear on the back. He sported a metal stud under his lip and his hair was dyed blond on top and shaved close around the sides and back. His mother, Rita Parson, seated in the back row of the courtroom, sighed heavily and wiped tears from her face before the hearing. Neither she nor Parson's father, Robert, would comment afterward. Parson left the courtroom escorted by federal marshals after Nelson said threats had been made against him. He is allowed to leave his home only for doctor visits and school. He later left the courthouse with his parents. None of the three responded to questions shouted by reporters as they arrived home. Luehr told the judge the Blaster variants caused $5 million to $10 million worth of damage to Microsoft alone. FBI and Secret Service agents searched Parson's home in the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins on Aug. 19 and seized seven computers, which are still being analyzed. One remaining computer will also be removed. Parson told the FBI he built into his version a method for reconnecting to victim computers later. Investigators said the worm allowed him to access individual computers and people's personal communications and finances. It wasn't immediately clear how he might have used that information. Parson apparently took few steps to disguise his identity. As a byproduct of each infection, every victim's computer sent signals back to the "t33kid.com" Web site that Parson had registered in his own name, listing his home address. The computer bug also included an infecting file called "teekids.exe" that experts quickly associated with Parson's Web site: Hackers routinely substitute "3" for the letter "e" in their online aliases. More can be found here....pff, some people http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...internet_attack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoxStar Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 What did the virus do? I never got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 Well iam glad this loser is being locked up !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topshot Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 Heh, the kid played with fire and got burned. That should teach 'im a lesson about messing with the Internet and other computers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cheat Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 guess he will think twice next time before altering a virus and unleashing it serves him right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZBomber Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 I heard about it on the news. Did it really stop computers? I doubt it did it permentatly, maybe for like a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBell Posted August 30, 2003 Author Share Posted August 30, 2003 I dont think any computers were perminantly shut down because of the virus, but it did create some confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockV1.89 Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 physically imposing 18-year-old You mean big and fat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoxStar Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 I heard he appeared in court with a lip ring, spiked hair, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XERXES Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Originally posted by KBell : Hackers routinely substitute "3" for the letter "e" in their online aliases. [/url] funniest part of the article! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 as far as virus's go, blaster was a cool one... all it did was go after microsoft after all... unfortunately, try as much as i could i couldn't seem to catch it... That variation that fixed your computer was my fave virus though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XERXES Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 all the kids with XP had the virus, thankfully I still have this pos win 98. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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