The A to Z of security

Jaschan (Sven)

German teen Sven Jaschan was responsible for writing and unleashing the Sasser virus back in 2004.

Sasser blew the simmering lid off malware - wreaking high-profile havoc in businesses and organisations across the world. Disruption caused by the worm included the shutting down of 130 offices of insurance company IF; the cancelling of several Delta Air Lines transatlantic flights; and the satellite communication of the AFP news agency being blocked for hours.

Security from A to Z

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A is for Antivirus
B is for Botnets
C is for CMA
D is for DDoS
E is for Extradition
F is for Federated identity
G is for Google
H is for Hackers
I is for IM
J is for Jaschan (Sven)
K is for Kids
L is for Love Bug
M is for Microsoft
N is for Neologisms
O is for Orange
P is for Passwords
Q is for Questions
R is for Rootkits
S is for Spyware
T is for Two-factor authentication
U is for USB sticks/devices
V is for Virus variants
W is for Wi-fi
X is for OS X
Y is for You
Z is for Zero-day

The teen was arrested after a three-month international investigation that saw Microsoft slapping a $250,000 bounty on the Sasser writer's head. Jaschan even landed himself on the 2004 silicon.com Agenda Setters list for the dubious honour of being the first person caught as a direct result of Microsoft's largesse.

Jaschan was tried in Germany in July 2005 and pleaded guilty to charges including computer sabotage and disruption of business. There was speculation he would serve time behind bars. But the teen was in fact handed a suspended sentence - a punishment that caused widespread anger in the security community.

Jaschan managed to generate further headlines by netting a programming job with computer security company Securepoint - which also caused much head-shaking and soul-searching among security professionals.

In the wake of the controversy, the question 'would you hire a reformed virus writer?' split silicon.com's CIO Jury down the middle.