[Worship] Melissa mayhem: Suspect nabbed

[PastorAK@aol.com]

Melissa mayhem: Suspect nabbed 

A 30-year-old, New Jersey computer programmer has been charged with 
writing and launching the virus 

TRENTON, New Jersey -- A 30-year-old New Jersey computer programmer has 
been charged with writing and launching Melissa, the fast-spreading 
computer virus that wormed its way into hundreds of thousands of 
computers over the last week disguised as seemingly innocuous e-mail 
messages. 

The programmer, David L. Smith, was taken into custody after FBI agents 
and officials from America Online helped investigators from the New 
Jersey Attorney-General's office home in on the Internet access provider 
that was apparently first used to send the virus, which has now infected 
more than 100,000 computers globally. Investigators then spent three 
days sorting through thousands of customers' files and electronic 
transmissions from the provider, Monmouth Internet Corp, and determined 
that the telephone line used to send the first copy of the virus was 
wired into Smith's apartment in Aberdeen Township, according to 
Attorney-General Peter Verniero. 

Smith, who launched Melissa onto the Internet on March 27, now faces 
five to 10 years' jail if convicted of the most serious charge levelled 
against him: interrupting public communication. 


There had been speculation over the last week that Melissa was created 
by VicodinES, the Internet alias of a hacker who had dabbled in similar 
viruses, and whose "digital fingerprint" had been spotted by a 
Massachusetts computer expert. But state officials said that Smith was 
not VicodinES, although they cryptically suggested that he might have 
been helped by the hacker's know-how. 
While officials said they were convinced that he was the driving force 
behind Melissa, they also emphasised that investigations were ongoing. 

The A-G would not say whether officials were looking for other suspects 
in connection with the case, but some private anti-virus experts said 
the so-called "digital fingerprints" on the code embedded in Melissa 
indicated there were at least two programmers involved. 

The Melissa virus was embedded into an e-mail attachment, and designed 
to exploit a feature of the Microsoft Outlook e-mail program, so that 
each time the infected document was opened, it sent itself out 
automatically to as many as 50 other people. 

Technology experts fear that other high-tech saboteurs may use similar 
techniques, known as "worm programs", to transmit more harmful viruses 
in the future, at speeds which far outpace the current ability to 
prevent, detect or disable them. 

"It's possible that in the near future, viruses could spread around the 
globe in a matter of an hour or two, and if it's a destructive virus, do 
incredible amounts of damage," said Mr Steve R. White, senior manager of 
anti-virus research at IBM's Watson Research Center in Hawthorne, New 
York. 

"It's going to demand an entire new way of combating them, new 
approaches and new technologies," he added. --Washington Pos
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