Microsoft Offers Reward Of $500K For Nabbing Hackers

The software giant, frustrated by a series of Windows attacks that has cost businesses billions of dollars in cleanup costs, announced those bounties as part of a $5 million reward program launched with the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and Interpol last Wednesday.

While the fate of the most sought-after virus writers remained a mystery by week's end, some solution providers cheered the first two $250,000 bounties as money well-spent.

"This is a great approach," said Michael Goldstein, vice president at LAN Associates, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "These hackers are costing companies millions of dollars and huge amounts of downtime."

In agreement was Glen Gulyas, president of GigaTrust, a software developer in Herndon, Va.: "If it stops just one of those guys, it's worth it," he said.

Microsoft's top attorney pledged to prosecute hackers and reward those who turn them in.

"Every part of the Internet community suffers from the criminal act of releasing viruses and malicious code," said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft.

Microsoft is prepared to dig deeper into its pockets once the $5 million is spent.

"We'll address them on a case-by-case basis. It's a first step, and a big enough step to have an impact," Smith said. "If we need to spend more money, we'll spend more money. It's a priority."

To date, law enforcement agencies have suspects in three of the six MSBlaster incidents. Neither Microsoft nor law enforcement officials would comment on the status of those cases.

Interpol, a 181-member international law enforcement agency based in Lyon, France, said prosecution is difficult. "The Internet challenges current legal concepts because borders are no longer boundaries," said Peter Nevitt, director of information systems at Interpol. "Hackers can launch an attack from the safety of their own country and cause damage in other countries."

While the United States and most developed nations have been hit hardest by viruses attacks, one Microsoft partner in South America pointed out that the damage is spread globally.

"It's a universal problem," Mariano de Larrobla, president of de Larrobla & Associates in Montevideo, Uruguay, told CRN at the recent Microsoft Momentum partner conference in New Orleans. "We don't have many hackers in Uruguay, but if a virus or worm hits in the United States, we get it within two to three hours."