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Former student: Bug may have been spread accidentally

A Filipino computer student, Onel A. de Guzman, appearing at a news conference with dark classes, says he is unsure if he released the Love Bug virus into cyberspace

May 11, 2000
Web posted at: 6:14 p.m. HKT (1014 GMT)

In this story: Virus causes billions in damage College said thesis unethical Investigators find additional link RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

MANILA, Philippines -- The computer school dropout sought by investigators in the "ILOVEYOU" computer virus case said Thursday he may have accidentally unleashed the bug that ravaged e-mail programs around the world.

Onel de Guzman appeared at a news conference with his sister, Irene de Guzman, and their lawyer, Rolando Quimbo, Thursday. The pair had been sought for questioning.

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However, Onel de Guzman did not say directly whether he had written the computer virus. When asked if he had released it, he replied: "It is possible."

"He is not really aware that the act imputed to him was done by him," his lawyer said. Quimbo also said no crime had been committed if no law had been violated.

It is possible a suspect in the case would be charged under a law banning improper use of a commerce device, such as credit cards. The Philippines has few laws tailored to computer crimes.

Virus causes billions in damage

The "Love Bug" swept around the world last week with surprising speed, as millions of unsuspecting victims opened the e-mail, which had the subject line "ILOVEYOU" and often came from someone known to the user.

The virus devastated e-mail programs, and damage from the bug and its variants has been estimated at $7 billion, and could reach $10 billion.

When activated, the virus destroyed files, replicated itself, accessed a program that searched for login names and passwords, and then mailed them back to the bug's author.

Authorities said Irene de Guzman owned the apartment that was searched by Philippine police on Monday as they tried to locate the computer that caused the havoc.

During their search, investigators seized a box with 17 items, including computer magazines, telephones, diskettes, wires and cassette tapes. However, they did not find the computer they believe had been used to originate the virus.

Authorities had traced both the computer and a telephone number used in the virus attack to the apartment. They noted, however, that anyone who had access to the apartment and the computer could have created the virus.

College said thesis unethical

An AMA official said that Onel de Guzman had excelled in his computer courses, but dropped out after his thesis proposal was rejected as unethical. The school said it has not heard from him since.

Philippine authorities turned their investigation on the computer school after receiving 10 coded names, embedded in the "ILOVEYOU" virus, from U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.

School officials determined the virus was similar to Onel de Guzman's thesis, called E:mail Password Sender Trojan, which was designed to obtain Windows passwords, and retrieve Internet accounts from victims' computers.

"We all know that when we connect to the Internet, we spend more time for surfing and reading e-mail only, so when we are spending time we spend a lot of money to pay the accounts for only using a couple of hours," Onel de Guzman's proposal read.

Internet use is billed by the hour in the Philippines, where time can cost as much as 100 pesos, or about US$2 to $3, per hour. By contrast, many users in the United States and Europe have access to flat-rate or "free," ad-supported Internet access plans.

"Use (this program) to steal and retrieve Internet accounts of the victim's computer," Onel de Guzman wrote in his thesis proposal.

Investigators find additional link

Meanwhile, a link between Onel de Guzman and another AMA student was discovered -- the resume of Michael I. Buen contained in the coding of a Microsoft Word macro virus.

The Buen virus contains the acknowledgement: "I'm thanking 'Byron' for sharing his computer and ideas, book and time." "Byron," whose identity was not immediately known, is mentioned in the resume portion, under "Character references." The next character reference is "Onel de Guzman."

On Monday, Philippine authorities detained Irene de Guzman's boyfriend, Reomel Ramones, but later released him. He is expected to answer charges on May 19. He said he had been mistaken for Onel de Guzman.

Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that more people may have helped spread the virus. NBI agents had also said the attack may have been caused by pranksters who did not realize the potential consequences.

Correspondent Maria Ressa, CNN Interactive Technology Editor D. Ian Hopper, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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