Sentence for Sasser hacker too lenient

Jul 12, 2005: The sentence has been announced for the teenage author of the Sasser worm, that caused billions of dollars of damage to computer systems last year, but an analyst in Australia has said that the punishment for his crime is far too lenient.

Sven Jaschan has received a suspended sentence and has been ordered to do 30 hours of community service.

However, Graham Titterington, an analyst at Ovum, believes that many people will be disappointed by the leniency of the sentence.

"Clearly, the courts are not yet regarding hacking offences as serious crimes. This may change over time when the consequences of such attacks are better appreciated the judiciary.

"However, we have always advised organisations not to put their faith in the law to stop hacking. The vast majority of hackers will escape detection, and making an example of a few will have little effect.

"We must focus on technical solutions to the problem, leading to a situation where hacking is no longer worthwhile for the perpetrators."

This case is also the first time the perpetrator has been identified through the payment of a reward by Microsoft. US$250,000 has been shared between two people.

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