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Teenager Who Hid Internet Viruses Alongside PRIEST And MEGADETH Song Lyrics Jailed

January 28, 2005

According to I.T. Vibe, a teenager from Minnesota who included a link inside an Internet worm to his web site where he made viruses available for download alongside lyrics for songs by JUDAS PRIEST and MEGADETH has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and 10 months community service by a U.S. District Court.

Jeffrey Lee Parson's worm, the so-called Blaster-B Internet worm, infected 48,000 computers and caused an estimated $1.2 million in damage when it spread in August 2003.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, commented, "An 18-month prison sentence is probably the best that Jeffrey Parson could have realistically hoped for. The U.S. authorities have demonstrated their determination to deal with virus writers and other cybercriminals. Parson's sentence sends out a strong message to other young people that writing viruses is a fool's game. Parson and his parents will be regretting the day he decided to get involved in virus-writing."

Parson, who went by the online handle of "Teekid", based his virus upon the virulent Blaster-A worm which exploited a serious security hole in Microsoft's software as it spread around the globe. Read more.

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