Of the many discouraging aspects of computer security, one of the worst is that offenders

are rarely punished at all, let alone seriously. I have to think another disappointment in this regard is imminent.

I refer to the case of Sven Jaschan, who authored the Sasser and Netsky worms, both on the short list for most damaging and long-lasting malware (有害软件) infestations (大批出现), and both still on the charts as active threats.

The news stories give the unmistakable whiff of "community service": Little Svenny was a minor when some of the offences were committed. The maximum sentence is five years, and it's presumably his first offence.

Americans do seem to look differently at this age issue for criminals. I don't want to assert too much, but I think it's unfair to say that Jaschan only superficially committed his crime in Germany. By launching large-scale malware attacks he committed crimes against computer users everywhere. If it's wrong to punish a 17-year-old severely for such crimes, why is it not wrong to punish someone severely who is just a few months, perhaps even days, older？

In any event, there should be no doubt as to the severity of Jaschan's crimes. The Geman police may have found only 130,000 euros' worth of damage so far, but that's obviously a small fraction of the damage, and anyone smart enough to create these attacks is smart enough to conceive of the damage of which they are capable.

But the odds are lining up behind a light sentence, and in fact it's even worse. In the wake of his arrest Jaschan was hired by a German security software firm called Securepoint, which specializes in defenses against viruses and worms, and the company says it will stick with Jaschan regardless of the outcome of the trial. Jaschan is all set to profit for the rest of his life from the notoriety of his offences.

Which of the following is NOT true about Sasser and Netsky？

A．They were created by Jaschan.

B．They are Jaschan's friends.

C．They are computer viruses.

D．They threaten computer security.