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Pain in Spain for virus suspect

The Spanish police have arrested a man in connection with the Tasin worm. The 20 year old is accused of proliferating the worm, which infected thousands of computers across the Spanish-speaking world.

"This arrest comes just days after the police apprehended in Madrid the suspected author of a Trojan horse which spied on people via their webcams," said Graham Cluley senior technology consultant at Sophos. "The Spanish police's quick action should send out a clear message to anyone thinking of writing and releasing a worm: it's just not worth it."

"Operation Astigi", the name of the mission to catch the creator of Tasin, led to the suspect, known only as A.R.N, through his internet pseudonym.

"A rampant ego has been the downfall of many a virus writer in the past. The traditional juvenile author has often felt it impossible not to brag to his friends, or leave too many clues inside his code or on the internet," said Cluley.

The Tasin worm achieved notoriety through its connection with Nuria Bermudez, darling of the Spanish press. Those unfortunate enough to be infected by the worm found that it tried to automatically download Bermudez who is known for, amongst other things, claiming to have slept with a string of Spanish footballers.

Earlier this month Spanish police arrested a 37 year old man in an operation known as "Tic-Tac". The suspect, known as J.A.S, stands accused of distributing a trojan horse via peer-to-peer networks.

www.sophos.com

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