Philippine investigators said yesterday that they will charge Onel de Guzman with "fraud and malicious mischief" over the worm virus that caused billions of pounds worth of damage to business computers last month.
vnunet.com, 14 Jun 2000
Philippine investigators said yesterday that they will charge Onel de Guzman with "fraud and malicious mischief" over the worm virus that caused billions of pounds worth of damage to business computers last month.
The 24-year-old student had already admitted that he may have "accidentally" unleashed the virus from his Manila apartment, but denied being its author.
According to reports today, however, officers at The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation say de Guzman is "the one responsible" and that they will file charges as soon as their lawyers review a report prepared by investigators.
But experts have previously warned that Philippine law doesn't specifically cover computer crime and that it may be hard for prosecutors to gain a conviction.
If found guilty, de Guzman could face six years in prison, but he is unlikely to be extradited to the US as the charges may not be deemed of sufficient gravity to warrant such a move.
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.
A new version of the Love Bug virus has hit the European banking community - and experts warn it has the potential to spread quickly.
As the world tightens up its defences to ward off another deadly computer virus, hoax virus warnings are running wild and causing their own disruption.
Despite the havoc caused by the recent spate of serious virus attacks, such as the deadly Love Bug, many home and small business users are still not regularly updating their antivirus software.
Recent Swedish attacks raise worrying possibility
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