‘Fessing up to writing two little known and extremely low-impact computer viruses has nonetheless gotten a member of the notorious, Russian-based 29A virus writing gang a fine and a criminal record.
Eugene Suchkov has admitted to Russian authorities that he is the author of the W32Stepan and Gastropod viruses, and that he posted their live codes aside the needed source codes to write new variants on numerous underground sites.
Known pseudonymously as Whale, Suchkov had once predicted in a British interview that Microsoft’s .NET framework would be turned into a playground for virus writers in the future. He subsequently published articles online that explained how that could be done.
"A 3,000 rouble fine is little more than a smacked bottom,” Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said about Suchkov’s penalty, “but he has been found guilty and it's encouraging to see the Russian authorities taking action against virus writers.
"With so many computer criminals based in Russia,” Cluley continued, “it's time to send out a strong message that those who write and distribute viruses have nowhere to hide."
The news of Suchkov’s sentencing came only days following another gang member hitting the news. Known only as Benny, this member was reportedly hired by a Czech company to write antivirus software, having sworn to give up virus writing and even resigning from 29A.
Cluley, however, is skeptical of Benny’s claims to be working for an antivirus company. "No self-respecting antivirus company would ever employ a virus writer," he said.
"Besides the horrendous PR problem of trying to explain to customers why you have employed someone who added to the malware problem, there is simply the issue of how could you trust someone who has behaved so immaturely and unethically in the past," Cluley continued. “With so much information coming into the public domain about the members of the 29A virus-writing gang, maybe the international authorities will be able to investigate further and show 29A the error of their ways.”
