WASHINGTON – Recalling the days of the Wild West, Microsoft has put a $700,000 bounty on the heads of the writers of two computer bugs that infected more than half a million computers this year.
The tech giant offered two $350,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Blaster worm and Sobig e-mail virus, which disabled computers and snarled internet traffic across the globe in August and September.
Microsoft, a frequent target of hacker attacks, said it had also earmarked an additional $6 million for future rewards.
The Sobig virus generated millions of e-mails that dragged internet traffic to a crawl; Blaster was aimed at blocking a Microsoft site offering patches for viruses.
"These are not just Internet crimes, cybercrimes or virtual crimes," said Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft. "These are real crimes that hurt a lot of people."
Microsoft announced the bounties yesterday in conjunction with the FBI, the Secret Service and Interpol.
Law enforcement has managed to catch only a handful of virus writers over the years, although hundreds of new viruses are created every month. Microsoft claims it has tried to harden its Windows system to better resist viruses, but new vulnerabilities always seem to pop up.
Now Microsoft and the authorities have turned to an old investigative tactic – paying people to identify wrongdoers.
"It's not anything new," said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson. He said law enforcement has used rewards to solve crimes like bank robberies or to catch fugitives.
"This is something we have done in the real world for decades and decades," said Patrick Gray, a director with Internet Security Systems and a 28-year veteran of the FBI. "These people are criminals – let's treat them as such," Mr Gray said.
But other industry observers believe Microsoft should instead undertake a huge publicity campaign to inform people how to protect themselves against viruses.
www.heraldsun.news.com.au
The tech giant offered two $350,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Blaster worm and Sobig e-mail virus, which disabled computers and snarled internet traffic across the globe in August and September.
Microsoft, a frequent target of hacker attacks, said it had also earmarked an additional $6 million for future rewards.
The Sobig virus generated millions of e-mails that dragged internet traffic to a crawl; Blaster was aimed at blocking a Microsoft site offering patches for viruses.
"These are not just Internet crimes, cybercrimes or virtual crimes," said Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft. "These are real crimes that hurt a lot of people."
Microsoft announced the bounties yesterday in conjunction with the FBI, the Secret Service and Interpol.
Law enforcement has managed to catch only a handful of virus writers over the years, although hundreds of new viruses are created every month. Microsoft claims it has tried to harden its Windows system to better resist viruses, but new vulnerabilities always seem to pop up.
Now Microsoft and the authorities have turned to an old investigative tactic – paying people to identify wrongdoers.
"It's not anything new," said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson. He said law enforcement has used rewards to solve crimes like bank robberies or to catch fugitives.
"This is something we have done in the real world for decades and decades," said Patrick Gray, a director with Internet Security Systems and a 28-year veteran of the FBI. "These people are criminals – let's treat them as such," Mr Gray said.
But other industry observers believe Microsoft should instead undertake a huge publicity campaign to inform people how to protect themselves against viruses.
www.heraldsun.news.com.au
