Experts: Timing of new Sasser worm raises questions
The release of a new version of the Sasser worm calls into question claims by some German authorities that they have the sole author of the worm in custody, according to antivirus experts.A new version of the Sasser worm, dubbed Sasser-E, appeared late Friday, around the time police arrested an 18-year-old man they said was the author of all the Sasser variants and of the Netsky worm. While it is possible that the teenager released the worm just before being captured, the close timing and clues from earlier Sasser variants may point to a larger network of virus writers outside of Germany, said Mikko Hypponen, antivirus research manager at F-Secure Corp. in Finland.
On Friday, German police in Lower Saxony arrested the man and charged him with creating Sasser, which appeared on May 1, and three variants that appeared in subsequent days.
The arrest of the man, who has not officially been identified, followed a tip to Microsoft Deutschland GmbH from individuals who asked about the possibility of receiving a reward in exchange for information about the creator of the Sasser worm, said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft, in a statement.
