German authorities were able to arrest the unnamed perpetrator of the Sasser worm within seven days of its launch, following cooperation among German law enforcement agencies, the FBI and Secret Service in the US, and Microsoft.
Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft, said: "The information leading to this arrest resulted in part from Microsoft's anti-virus reward program, as well as new technical and investigative techniques we have developed during the past year to address precisely this type of situation."
Microsoft entered into a partnership last November to create a $5 million anti-virus reward program, supporting Interpol, the FBI, and the Secret Service. Aware of this program, certain individuals in Germany approached Microsoft investigators last week, offered to provide information about the creator of the Sasser virus, and inquired about their eligibility for a reward. Microsoft told the individuals that the company would consider providing a reward of up to $250,000 if their information led to the arrest and conviction of the Sasser perpetrator.
The investigation led by German police over the past week led to information relating not only to all four variants of the Sasser worm, but also to the Netsky worm, which was launched on 16th February. Ultimately there were 28 variants of the Netsky worm, and German authorities are alleging that all these variants are connected to the individual arrested on Saturday.
According to police, the German teenager, an engineering student living near Rotenburg, has confessed to writing Sasser, but it is not known if he is also admitting responsibility for all variations of it and Netsky.