Romanian hacker is on trial
Date: March 27, 2004Source: Computer Crime Research Center
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Romania has enacted tough laws to protect its emerging reputation as a hub of skilled programmers for Western companies and erase any connection with cybercrime syndicates that law enforcement officials say are being run out of Eastern Europe. As the trial begins, the Ciobanu case has reignited an international debate on appropriate justice for cybercrimes, particularly one that until recently was dismissed as the handiwork of tech-savvy teenagers showing off.
The case of a Romanian man charged with spreading the W32/Blaster-F worm is reported to have begun on March 23.
First charged September last year, 24 year-old Dan Dumitru Ciobanu, wearing black jeans and leather jacket, the alleged author of Blaster-F - a very similar version of the notorious Blaster-A worm, one of the most damaging computer viruses of 2003 - showed up in court in the Romanian city of Iasi.
You may recall the Blaster virus from last year that infected hundreds of thousands of computers and would randomly turn them off, much to the amazement of the people using them at the time.
Ciobanu is said to have claimed that the virus spread itself because he tested it while his computer was connected to the internet.
"Virus distribution is costly, damaging and illegal, and guilty parties can face serious consequences for their actions," said Carole Theriault, security consultant at Sophos. "Romanian authorities have an opportunity in this trial to make a clear statement that cyber crime will not be tolerated."
If convicted, Ciobanu faces between three and fifteen years in prison. The case is set to continue on April 6.
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