The reason: Enticed by a US$250,000 reward, an informant came forward to leak information on the person who wrote and released Sasser. It's exactly what Microsoft, which agreed to the bounty as part of its anti-virus reward program, hoped would happen, said Hemanshu Nigam, an attorney for the Microsoft branch administering the program.
Nigam, originally from India, worked as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and later in the Department of Justice.
Initially, he prosecuted child pornographers and others who exploit children on the Net. He then joined the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section but left to work for the Motion Picture Association of America to help the group enforce its copyright claims against digital pirates. He moved to Microsoft to work on similar issues and also to focus on criminal complaints: For instance, when scammers use Hotmail or MSN.com to engage in criminal activity, he supports law enforcement in identifying people and providing information, as required by law.
As the lead attorney in Microsoft's Digital Integrity Group, Nigam is again on the enforcement trail. He recently spoke with CNET News.com about Microsoft's ongoing battle with virus writers.
Q: What is the aim of the anti-virus reward program?
A: The anti-virus reward program is designed to provide incentives for law enforcement to get information so that somebody who is a witness of a crime comes forward. At the same time, people should understand we are saying that launchers of malicious code ought to think twice before they hit that send button or release that code online. We are hoping that there are citizens who will step up and do the right thing, providing information if they have it. We are also hoping that those who are thinking about doing something that is not the right thing -- that they are going to think twice and stop before doing it.
Has it been successful so far?
People have been providing leads to law enforcement ever since we launched the reward program. What law enforcement authorities are telling us is that they are pleased with the leads that they are getting.
With the Sasser worm, you did not actually say, "Hey, we are offering a reward for Sasser." It took someone to come forward and ask if you would you offer a reward. To what extent has that happened in the past?
It is the first time somebody came to Microsoft, specifically, and said, "I have information for you.
I know about your reward program, and I want to talk to you about somebody who has done something that is malicious in nature." It is the first time that has happened. However, we have seen an increase -- and this is something law enforcement has told us -- in the number of citizens out there who are calling law enforcement and saying, "We have information on a cybercrime." The community out there using the Internet knows things about what is going on and is energised to step forward and do the right thing -- even if it is not directly connected to a reward being offered by Microsoft. That, to us, is a success in itself.
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