Sasser Worm Author May Face 2 Years

In closing arguments, German court officials have recommended putting 19 year-old Sven Jaschan behind bars for two years for creating the "Sasser" computer worm that spread to computers worldwide in 2004. However, the sentence would be contingent on his actions over the next three years.

If Jaschan does not run afoul of the law within that time period, he would not have to serve the two-year sentence in a youth detention center. According to the court, the defense had asked for a one-year suspended sentence.

The trial, which has moved quickly after starting earlier in the week, will likely end Friday with a verdict. Jaschan has pleaded guilty to all counts and confessed after his May 2004 arrest.

Microsoft was responsible for assisting in catching the teen after it posted a reward for tips leading to the arrest of those responsible. One such tip enabled authorities to track the Sasser worm back to Jaschan.

Sasser scanned for vulnerable computers, but was not a malicious worm; it was designed to seek out and delete other worms including MyDoom. However, the network scanning casused Windows computers to crash and reboot. Microsoft has since patched the problem and anti-virus programs now offer protection against Sasser.