Teen pleads not guilty in worm attack

Thursday, September 18, 2003

By TODD BISHOP
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The Minnesota teenager accused of unleashing a variant of the Blaster computer worm entered a plea of not guilty yesterday during his first appearance in a Seattle courtroom.

Jeffrey Lee Parson, 18, acknowledged his birth date and identity and responded with a quiet "good afternoon" when greeted by Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler. Otherwise, however, the physically imposing teenager sat silently during his afternoon arraignment at U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Parson has been charged with releasing an insidious variant of the Blaster worm, infecting at least 7,000 machines. All told, different versions of the worm, also known as LovSan, infected hundreds of thousands of computers by exploiting a weakness in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.

Theiler set a Nov. 17 trial date in the case. Parson had been released on bond and placed under home arrest and electronic monitoring after he was charged last month. The judge yesterday agreed to modify the terms of his release to let him go not only to school, but also to work.

Parson's court-appointed attorneys, Nancy Tenney and Carol Koller of the Federal Public Defender's Office in Seattle, entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf. Deputy federal marshals hustled him through the hallway after his courtroom appearance, and he eluded the Seattle media awaiting him on the sidewalks outside by slipping out a side exit.

According to court papers, Pardon admitted during an interview with an FBI agent that he had modified the original Blaster worm and created his own version. He is charged with intentionally causing and attempting to cause damage to a protected computer, for which the maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being tried in Seattle because Microsoft is considered a primary victim. Versions of the Blaster worm instructed infected computers to start an attack on a Microsoft Web site. The company successfully thwarted that attack.

In an off-camera interview earlier this month with NBC's "Today" show, Parson said he was "extremely concerned" that authorities were trying to make an example of him.

"I understand that the government needs to catch someone for these crimes," he said, according to an NBC transcript. "I'm not the one they need to get!"

Parson, a reported 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 320 pounds, had his head shaved on the sides during his courtroom appearance yesterday, with a bleached shock of hair pulled back atop his head. He wore a T-shirt and baggy jeans.

He declined to comment when approached by a KING/5 news crew after arriving Tuesday night at Sea-Tac Airport. "Please, just leave me alone," he told the TV crew.

Authorities said after Parson's arrest that they were still hunting for the original creator of the Blaster worm. John Hartingh, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said yesterday that the inquiry is ongoing.

P-I reporter Todd Bishop can be reached at 206-448-8221 or toddbishop@seattlepi.com

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