FBI near arrest in MSBlast case

29 Aug 2003 11:19

An FBI official says the bureau is about to arrest a teenager in connection with the MSBlast virus

Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation are close to arresting a teenager in connection with the MSBlast virus.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the 18-year-old, whose name and hometown have been withheld, will be arrested later today.

The FBI official spoke anonymously to AP.

The FBI had earlier said it was "confident" that it will capture those who are responsible for creating and spreading the MSBlast worm and the Sobig.F virus.

Companies and home computer users have had to deal with the MSBlast worm -- also known as W32/Blaster and W32.Lovsan -- which started spreading on 11 August; a worm that attempted to plug the hole exploited by the MSBlast worm; and the Sobig.F virus, which spread through email attachments opened by unsuspecting people.

The FBI subpoenaed Arizona Internet provider Easynews.com a week ago, looking for more information about a person who posted the Sobig.F virus to several porn newsgroups.

Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39115998,00.htm