Two years after the arrest of a noted hacker, his creation remains at the top of the virus charts, a security company said Wednesday, proving just how long an Internet affliction can last.
May 8, 2004, German police arrested then 18-year-old Sven Jaschan, and charged him with creating and distributing the Netsky and Sasser worm clans, two of the most pernicious malware families of 2004. A $250,000 bounty posted by Microsoft was instrumental in locating Jaschan.
Netsky -- named by some anti-virus firms as the worst worm of 2004 -- holds down the top spot on U.K.-based Sophos' malware chart two years after its author was nabbed.
"Jaschan's Netsky.p worm is still the number one reported virus in the world," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a statement. "Every anti-virus program, even the crummiest ones, can detect the Netsky worm, and have been able to for years.
"This tells us that there are still many people out there who aren't using any anti-virus software at all, but are busy passing on an old pox to others."
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