Sasser worm author gets suspended sentence
The German computer whizz-kid who wrote the crippling Sasser Internet worm was convicted of computer sabotage on Friday and given a suspended sentence of one year and nine months, a court official said.
Sven Jaschan, 19, had confessed to creating the worm which spread over the Microsoft Windows operating system in May 2004 knocking out an estimated one million computers in homes and businesses.
Described by authorities as a "computer freak", he had pleaded guilty to charges of data manipulation, computer sabotage and interfering with public services.
But because he was 17 when the crimes were committed, Jaschan was tried in a youth court and his punishment fell far short of the maximum sentence of five years in jail that computer sabotage carries under German law.
Prosecutors had called for a two-year suspended jail sentence and 200 hours of community service for Jaschan, while the defence had argued for a maximum sentence of one year's probation.
Katharina Kruetzfeldt, a spokeswoman for the court in the northwestern town of Verden, said Jaschan had also been ordered to do 30 hours' community service.