Love Bug suspect escapes punishment

All charges have been dropped against the Philippino college drop-out held in connection with the release of the Love Bug virus earlier this year.

The Philippines Department of Justice said they had insufficient evidence to back up the charges filed against Onel de Guzman, the 24-year-old former student who had already admitted that he may have "accidentally" unleashed the worm virus from his Manila apartment.

Earlier this year, Philippine investigators said that Guzman would be charged with "fraud and malicious mischief".

Despite admitting releasing the virus, Guzman maintained he was not its author. The virus caused millions of pounds worth of damage to businesses worldwide in May.

Although the US took the brunt of the global damage, it is extremely unlikely that Guzman will be extradited now that all charges against him have been dropped.

Security experts were not surprised by the news, however, having previously warned that Philippine law doesn't specifically cover computer crime and that it was therefore very unlikely that prosecutors would gain a conviction.

Wayne Sowery, technical director at security consultancy MIS, said: "It is very hard to prove someone wrote a virus unless you can get back to their machine and find the code and link that to one individual."

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at antivirus vendor Sophos, said: "It is galling that the person responsible for the greatest virus outbreak in history, causing millions of dollars worth of damage worldwide, looks likely to be unpunished."

"Polls in the Philippines have found the majority of the country's population are proud to be the birthplace of the Love Bug," he added. "What kind of message does this send kids? That writing a virus is a good way to be offered a lucrative job, and criminal suspects are the new national heroes?"