Industrial espionage worm authors jailed

An Israeli couple used Trojan software to spy on rivals

A married couple accused of using computer worms to conduct industrial espionage has received jail terms of four and two years after pleading guilty in an Israeli court.

Ruth Brier-Haephrati, 28, and her husband Michael Haephrati, 44, were also ordered to pay damages of two million shekels (£245,000) to their victims.

According to the indictment, the couple managed a company known as Target-Eya. Michael Haephrati was accused of developing the malware, while Ruth Brier-Haephrati was accused of marketing the malware to private investigators who bought the code and installed it onto the computers of their clients' rivals.

The Trojan software is said to have been used to spy on the Rani Rahav PR agency, whose clients include Israel's second biggest mobile phone operator, Partner Communications, and the HOT cable television group.

Another alleged victim is Champion Motors, which imports Audi and Volkswagen cars.