Some things to ponder...
- Apparently, the "kid" may also have created the netsky virus. The latest scoop on the guy...
- He is 18 - old enough to drive a car, old enough to get drunk (in Germany), old enough to be a soldier, old enough to carry a gun, and in some countries, old enough to vote. He is old enough to have killed somebody. And he is old enough to realize that what he did was wrong.
- Numerous papers have reported the cost of the recent plague of viruses. They cost business money.
And they can cost lives - hospitol, traffic lights, power plants, nuclear plants. (The North American black out in August 2003 apparently caused by a company that had previously been infected in Jan 2003 by the Slammer virus. Hmmm..., their power grid system takes a dump about the time the blaster virus goes ballistic -- just speculating, just being paranoid)
- Next, we live in a global community. This is what the Internet has done to us. However, the laws and ethics are light years behind. Somebody writes a virus in a third world country -- it is unlikely "we" can not touch them. It may be unlikely there are the necessary laws in place to address the situation in all countries. What makes up the culture and ehtics in North America or Europe does not neccessary apply in other countries.
From my perspective, it will be a long, long time before we have the legal and cultural infrastructure in a global perspective to keep up with the cyber space crime which has been global for years.
I also believe that virus are a very serious threat, and should be treated as such where ever possible. A joke virus can be modified to a more sinister entity. You may lean to the left or to the right, but when it comes to something that can hurt many people, and cost million / billions, then it has to be treated seriously.
What to do...
I have always thought it was the developers of the applications to take on this responsibility. I have never been a big fan of bells an whistles software "you have mail ;-)". And I am hopefully that Microsoft and others will heed their PR and promises, and favour security and "meat" over the pizzaz and flash.
And hopefully, we as consumers, will have choices in buying secure vs flashy software.
What will happen to the Sasser Kid?
Probably get a light sentence.... and then will be hired by a software company to develope secure software.