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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Western District of Washington
PRESS ROOM
September 26, 2003

 

JUVENILE ARRESTED FOR RELEASING VARIANT OF BLASTER COMPUTER WORM THAT ATTACKED MICROSOFT


John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, R. Scott Crabtree, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Seattle Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Wallace Shields, Special Agent in Charge, Seattle Field Division of the United States Secret Service (USSS), announced that a juvenile has been arrested in connection with the release of a variant of the Blaster computer worm, often described as the RPCSDBOT version of the worm, which directed infected computers to launch a distributed denial of service attack against the Microsoft Corporation. The arrest is for an act of juvenile delinquency, under Title 18, United States Code, Section 5032, based on intentionally causing damage and attempting to cause damage to protected computers, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1030(a)(5)(A)(i), 1030(a)(5)(B)(i), 1030(b), and 1030(c)(4)(A), and Section 2.

Pursuant to federal statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 5038, neither the identity of the juvenile nor the details of the investigation or the charge can be disclosed to the public.

United States Attorney John McKay commended the Washington Cyber Task Force on its speedy and effective investigation. He also thanked Microsoft Corporation for its assistance to law enforcement. "Computer hackers need to understand that they will be pursued and held accountable for malicious activity, whether they be adults or juveniles."

United States Attorney John McKay, FBI Seattle Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Scott Crabtree, and USSS Special Agent in Charge Wallace Shields emphasized that even after two arrests in the investigation of the Blaster worm, it remains an on-going investigation. "Law enforcement is continuing its investigation into any additional persons who were involved in that activity. We encourage anyone with information concerning this matter to contact the FBI and/or the USSS."

This case was investigated by the Washington Cyber Task Force, which includes local law enforcement in the Western District of Washington, the Seattle Division of the FBI, and the Seattle Division of the USSS. Other divisions of the FBI and USSS also provided assistance in the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Annette L. Hayes and Floyd G. Short are prosecuting the case.

The public is reminded that an arrest of a juvenile is based on allegations that must be proved to a court beyond a reasonable doubt in order for there to be an adjudication of delinquency.
Due to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Title 18, United States Code, Sections 5031 et seq., no further comment or information can be provided to the public at this time.

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