Russians go soft on virus writer

A member of an influential Russian hacking group has received a small fine for posting two viruses on the internet.

Eugene Suchkov, a member of the 29a coding group, admitted writing the W32/Stepan and Gastropod viruses and releasing them onto the internet. The code could allow others to create malicious viruses and spread them online.

"A 3,000 rouble [£57] fine is little more than a smacked bottom, but at least Suchkov has been found guilty. Indeed it's encouraging to see the Russian authorities taking action against virus writers," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a statement.

"With so many computer criminals based in Russia it's time to send out a strong message that those who write and distribute viruses have nowhere to hide."

The 29a group is well known as the creator of 'proof of concept' viruses that demonstrate security weaknesses but do not contain malicious payloads. The group created the first viable mobile phone worm, called Cabir, earlier in the year.