Blaster worm writer gets 18 months in prison

Posted on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 2:08 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck

Jeffrey Lee Parson, the creator of the infamous Blaster worm, has received an 18-month sentence in prison for releasing this worm on the internet in 2003.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman could have sentenced Parson to as many as 37 months — the maximum end of the range agreed to by lawyers on both sides of the case.

Instead, she said she was swayed to a more lenient sentence because of Parson's history of mental-health problems and because his home life "sounds grimmer than many prison camps I've visited."

Parson will also face three years of supervision and 100 hours of community service after he is released.

The Blaster worm caused a lot of damage in the Summer of 2003.

Read more at Seattle Times

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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Re: Blaster worm writer gets 18 months in prison
by Anonymous on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 8:40 CET

The kid didn't write blaster - he took a copy of blaster and added his initials/nickname to it. What he did was wrong, but this kid wasn't a mastermind, he was a 17 year old copy cat.

1 1/2 years is still quite a bit, considering he was a minor. He probably could have stabbed someone and gotten less time.

Reply by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 01 2005 @ 3:20 CET

he wasnt a minor, he was 18 at the time he did it... he turned 19 in july and modified it in august . and he also added a backdoor to it , not just put his nickname in it

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