Lodai used our newssubmit to tell us that the creator of the Melissa computer virus was sentenced Wednesday to 20 months in federal prison for causing damage worth millions of dollars by disrupting e-mail systems worldwide in 1999:
Smith is believed to be among the first people ever prosecuted for creating a computer virus. In court today, he called the act a "colossal mistake."
The Melissa virus, which struck in March 1999, was disguised as an e-mail marked "important message" from a friend or colleague. It caused computers to send 50 additional infected messages. The volume of messages generated slowed some systems to a crawl.
Smith could have faced up to five years in prison, but prosecutors suggested a term of about two years, saying he had given authorities extensive assistance in thwarting other virus creators. He was also fined $5,000 by U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway.
Smith has said he created the virus on computers in his Aberdeen apartment and used a stolen screen name and password to get into America Online.
Well I can't say I feel sorry for him...
Source: Thestar.com
