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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