A high school senior has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge alleging he crippled more than 7,000 computers by modifying a version of the "Blaster" worm.
Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, Jeffrey Lee Parson, 18, of Hopkins, Minn., appeared briefly Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Mary Alice Theiler and left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
He was arrested Aug. 29 and faces one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer. The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison.
Parson said little in court, other than to acknowledge his identity and tell the judge "Good afternoon."
trial was tentatively set for Nov. 17 in Seattle. Parson has been placed under home detention, but is allowed to attend school.
Authorities said Parson admitted during an interview with federal agents that he modified the original "Blaster" infection last month and created a version known by a variety of names.
Parson has said the government overstated its case to try to make an example of him.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Floyd Short disputed that following Wednesday's hearing, saying "we're just trying to hold him accountable
Collectively, different versions of the virus-like worm, alternately called "LovSan" or "Blaster," snarled computer networks around the world, inundating more than 500,000 computers, according to Symantec Corp., a leading antivirus vendor. Experts consider it one of the worst outbreaks this year.
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