The little worm that could

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: An electronic link has transformed the world, speeding information via wire and air to our desktops. This ready access to knowledge makes the world smarter. Paradoxically, the link also makes the world more vulnerable, as a vandal or vandals illustrated anew this week. They let loose a worm that disabled computers around the globe.
Buried in the worm's code was this message: "I just want to say Love you San! Billy Gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!!"
The first sentence is perhaps a clue for authorities. Find a Sandy or Sandover or some such who is the friend of a computer nerd, and question that person. Or is the first sentence part of the taunt conveyed in the rest of the message? Does a "San" work at Microsoft Corp.?
In any event, whoever sent out the worm -- a virus that spreads automatically over a network from one computer to the next -- seemed intent on teaching Microsoft a lesson. The worm took advantage of a vulnerability in recently developed Microsoft operating systems.
The company did discover the flaw and alerted users a month ago to download an update designed to fix the problem. Still, perhaps the hacker is right. Perhaps Microsoft is too lackadaisical in guarding against attacks.
The unlocked door
That doesn't excuse the hacker's actions, however. That you left the door to your home unlocked doesn't exonerate a burglar of breaking and entering. The worm temporarily incapacitated hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, disrupting commerce. We can testify that it hampered the production of at least one metropolitan daily newspaper -- the one in Milwaukee. Hard hit were home computer users, who typically have fewer resources for fighting back than do large corporations. The worm may have caused some computers to completely crash.
Computer viruses will become more and more sophisticated. So, too, must our defenses against them. So reliant is the nation on computers that an attack on them can jeopardize national security. Is Microsoft wary enough? Perhaps the federal government should seek the answers to that question. Meanwhile, consumers must pay attention to alerts about anti-virus updates that should be installed on their computers.
As for the culprit or culprits behind the worm, they should be hunted down and prosecuted. Vandalism is against the law.