ILOVEYOU suspect says it was an accident... Maybe
The Filipino student linked with the creation of the ILOVEYOU virus says he may have released it into the wild by accident, according to press reports Thursday.
Onel de Guzman, a student at Manila's AMA Computer College, has been wanted for questioning by the Filipino authorities for several days.
At a press conference accompanied by his lawyer, Guzman did not confess to creating the virus but said that he may have been responsible for unleashing it onto the Internet.
De Guzman's lawyer reportedly told assembled press, "He is not really aware that the act imputed to him, was done by him." When asked if he could have released the virus accidentally, de Guzman is said to have replied: "it is possible."
De Guzman wrote a thesis described last week by his tutor as "very close" to the virus that began wreaking havoc with computer systems worldwide on May 4.
International investigators last week traced the origins of the virus to the home of de Guzman's sister in Manila. Her boyfriend Reonel Ramones was arrested but later released by police due to a lack of evidence.
Would you prosecute British Gas for making it possible to put your head in the oven and turn the gas on? Chris Long is taking no prisoners with this one, he accuses users who got the ILOVEYOU virus of having the IQ equivilent to a pin mould.
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