St. Paul
FBI agents arrested a Minnesota teenager on charges that he authored a version of the “Blaster” worm that clogged the Internet in August. Jeffrey Lee Parson, 18, allegedly modified the original virus, then unleashed his version. The worms exploited a flaw in Microsoft’s Windows operating system to spread as users shared data, crippling computers from Maryland to Sweden. Prosecutors said Parson’s worm infected 7,000 computers, and instructed them to attack Microsoft’s Web site. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. Friends said Parson, who is free while awaiting trial, never meant to hurt anyone. “When he found out this was a huge thing he felt really bad,” a 16-year-old friend said. “He was freaking out.”
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