New Sasser version may be circulating
An 18-year-old German who confessed to creating the "Sasser" computer worm launched a new version meant to limit the damage just before his arrest last week, investigators said Monday.
Authorities who have questioned Sven Jaschan got the impression his motive was to gain fame as a programmer, prosecutor Detlev Dyballa said.
Dyballa labeled as speculation news reports that Jaschan may have created the disruptive program to drum up business for his mother's computer store, PC-Help, in the small town of Waffensen.
"One can never rule out anything, but there are no facts to suggest it," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Jaschan was arrested Friday at his mother's house, where police said agents found him sitting at his computer. Investigators say the machine contained the worm's source code.
Earlier Friday, investigators said, Jaschan unleashed the new "Sasser e" -- a failed attempt to limit the damage caused by the four previous versions.
Frank Federau, a spokesman for the state criminal office in Hanover, said the worm was "a slightly modified form" of the program that raced around the world over the past week, exploiting a flaw in Microsoft's Windows operating system.
