Sven Jaschan, a 19 year old man on trial for authoring the Sasser Worm, has reportedly confessed to writing the malicious code which caused extensive damage to business and personal data all over the world, according to a German court. Worldwide it is estimated that his virus attacked over one million computer systems running Microsoft Windows. State prosecutor Silke Streichsbier was reportedly "highly satisfied" with the progression of the trial, and a verdict was expected to be reached on Thursday.
Jaschan, who was a minor at the time of the offenses, could face up to five years in prison for his crimes as well as compensation payments to victims, whose damages were estimated at approximately 130,000 Euro. It is not clear how much Jaschan would owe, since claims from victims internationally could potentially spiral into the millions. Some more notable victims of the Sasser Worm were the British Coastguard and global investment bank Goldman Sachs.
News source: Reuters UK
