Minnesota teen held in computer-worm case
By Brian Bakst
Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota teenager known online as "teekid" was arrested and placed on electronic monitoring yesterday for allegedly unleashing a version of the "Blaster" computer worm that infected thousands of computers.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Richard Nelson told Jeffrey Lee Parson not to access the Internet or any other network connection as a condition of his release. He did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance.
PARSON
Parson, 18, admitted during an interview with the FBI and Secret Service agents that he had modified the original "Blaster" infection and created a version known by a variety of different names, including "Blaster.B.," court papers said. At least 7,000 computers were affected by Parson's worm, prosecutor Paul Luehr said yesterday.
Collectively, different versions of the viruslike worm, alternately called "LovSan" or "Blaster," snarled corporate networks worldwide, inundating more than 500,000 computers, according to Symantec Corp., a leading antivirus vendor. Experts consider it one of the worst outbreaks this year.
Parson is the first person arrested in connection with the attack. Investigators would not comment on whether any other arrests were imminent.
His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17 in Seattle, where the case is being investigated.
The high-school senior faces one federal count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
"This kind of prosecution should be a warning shot across the bow of hackers," Tom Heffelfinger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said. "We're serious about it, and we're coming after you."
Parson's public defender for the hearing, Lionel Norris, argued for putting his client on home monitoring. His mother, Rita Parson, seated in the back row of the courtroom, sighed heavily and wiped tears from her face before the hearing.
Parson left the courtroom escorted by federal marshals after Nelson said threats had been made against him. He is allowed to leave his home only for doctor visits and school.
Luehr told the judge the Blaster variants caused $5 million to $10 million worth of damage to Microsoft alone.
FBI and Secret Service agents searched Parson's home in a Minneapolis suburb on Aug. 19 and seized seven computers, which are still being analyzed. Another computer will also be removed.
Parson allegedly told the FBI he built into his version a method for reconnecting to victim computers later. Investigators said the worm allowed him to access individual computers and people's personal communications and finances. It wasn't immediately clear how he might have used that information.
Parson apparently took few steps to disguise his identity. As a byproduct of each infection, every victim's computer sent signals back to the "t33kid.com" Web site that Parson had registered in his own name, listing his home address. The computer bug also included an infecting file called "teekids.exe" that experts quickly associated with Parson's Web site: Hackers routinely substitute "3" for the letter "e" in their online aliases.
