A web poll of more than 550 business PC users, conducted by Sophos, has revealed that 78% believe that last Friday’s sentencing of Sven Jaschan, the German teenager found guilty of writing and distributing the Netsky and Sasser worms, was not harsh enough.
A further 17% of respondents agreed with the North Germany court decision, which sentenced Jaschan to one year and nine months on probation and 30 hours community service. A mere 5% felt this sentence was too severe.
“With almost 80% of those surveyed saying Jaschan’s sentence was too lenient, it seems that many computer users aren’t convinced justice has been served,” says Mohammad Noraiee, managing director at Al Adeeb IT, which is the distributor for Sophos in the UAE.
“But perhaps even more interesting, is Microsoft splashing out US$250,000 to the two unidentified people who helped track Jaschan down – especially when speculation hints that these people are teenagers who may have had some involvement with Jaschan. It’s good to see Microsoft taking strong action against such crimes, but it might struggle if it has to shell out big bucks for every virus writer who gets arrested,” he adds.
Microsoft offers bounties for information leading to the successful prosecution of cyber criminals who attack its software.
