Teen worm writer to be jailed

His parents were partly to blame in this case, according to the judge. Jeffrey Lee Parson, arrested in 2003 for writing a variant of the Blaster worm that infected some 48,000 computers, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, Wired News reports. He also will have to perform community service, be supervised for three years, and pay restitution (a hearing for the amount to paid to Microsoft and other affected will be held later this month). "US District Judge Marsha Pechman, however, did not give the Minnesota teen the maximum 37-month sentence, saying Parson [then a high school student] wrote malicious software and used it to attack other computers partly because of neglectful upbringing and supervision." The original Blaster worm's writer has yet to be caught according to ZDNET UK.