The student, Onel de Guzman, who had been wanted for several
days, would not directly say whether he had written the virus. His
lawyer said, “He is not really aware that the act imputed to him
was done by him.” When asked by reporters whether he might have
accidentally released the virus, de Guzman replied, “It is
possible.” When asked how he felt about the damage caused by the
virus, he said “nothing.”
The 23 year old student had previously written a thesis proposal
for his class in the AMA Computer College, Manila which proposed a
program to steal internet accounts and passwords from others’
computers.
He wrote, “The researcher believes that it will be helpful to a
lot of people… to spend more time on [the] internet without
paying.” The thesis proposal was rejected by College staff. Hacking
experts have said the proposal bears a striking resemblance to a
key component of the Love Bug virus. According to college
officials, two of de Guzman’s earlier thesis proposals relate to
other elements of the virus.
De Guzman lives in the apartment from which investigators
believe the virus spread. One of de Guzman’s flatmates had been
detained earlier this week in connection with the virus. Both de
Guzman and his sister, Irene, have been summoned to appear before
investigators.
