Kournikova virus suspect faces court hearing

Anna Kournikova: admired by tennis fans and virus writers

By BBC News Online technology correspondent Mark Ward

The alleged creator of the computer virus named after Anna Kournikova is going on trial.

The virus struck earlier this year when thousands of people opened the e-mail it was hiding in, thinking they were about to see images of the glamorous tennis player.

Instead they found their e-mail address book plundered and used by the virus to spread itself further.

The alleged creator of the virus contacted police soon after it was unleashed.

Hacker handle

The 20-year-old man, whose name cannot be released under Dutch law, is also known by the hacker alias "OnTheFly".

He allegedly confessed to creating the virus and posted an apology for the havoc it caused.

Subsequent investigation of the virus showed that it was written using a virus toolkit by the name of the Visual Basic Worm Generator that is widely available on the internet. The kits offer a way for the unskilled to write viruses and lets them pick the parts from a pre-prepared list.

The hearing is due to start on 12 September. If the defendant is found guilty of creating the virus and causing damage to computer networks he faces a six month jail sentence and a fine of up to 100,000 guilders (£27,000). There is a possibility that the case could be referred to a higher court which could impose a sentence of up to four years.

OnTheFly is the first person to be charged with causing damage to computers by writing viruses in the Netherlands, and is only one of a handful that have gone on trial around the world.

The Kournikova virus, which only affected those using Microsoft's popular Outlook e-mail program, went on the rampage in February.

It is one of a growing number of viruses that attempted to infect machines and spread by exploiting human gullibility. The Kournikova and Naked Wife viruses tricked people into opening them by seeming to contain titillating images.

The virus is more properly known as a worm because it needs the help of others to spread itself.