German authorities were able to arrest the unnamed perpetrator
of the Sasser worm within seven days of its launch, following
cooperation among German law enforcement agencies, the FBI and
Secret Service in the US, and Microsoft.
Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at
Microsoft, said: "The information leading to this arrest resulted
in part from Microsoft's anti-virus reward program, as well as new
technical and investigative techniques we have developed during the
past year to address precisely this type of situation."
Microsoft entered into a partnership last November to create a
$5 million anti-virus reward program, supporting Interpol, the FBI,
and the Secret Service. Aware of this program, certain individuals
in Germany approached Microsoft investigators last week, offered to
provide information about the creator of the Sasser virus, and
inquired about their eligibility for a reward. Microsoft told the
individuals that the company would consider providing a reward of
up to $250,000 if their information led to the arrest and
conviction of the Sasser perpetrator.
The investigation led by German police over the past week led to
information relating not only to all four variants of the Sasser
worm, but also to the Netsky worm, which was launched on 16th
February. Ultimately there were 28 variants of the Netsky worm, and
German authorities are alleging that all these variants are
connected to the individual arrested on Saturday.
According to police, the German teenager, an engineering student
living near Rotenburg, has confessed to writing Sasser, but it is
not known if he is also admitting responsibility for all variations
of it and Netsky.
