Suspect's schoolmate denies involvement in 'Love Bug' virus

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,500204077-500283199-501517740-0,00.html

By DIRK BEVERIDGE, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (May 14, 2000 8:25 a.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - A computer school graduate on Sunday
denied any involvement in the "Love Bug" catastrophe that struck
e-mail systems worldwide 1 1/2 weeks ago.

"These allegations and insinuations have caused me and my family great
distress," Michael Buen said in a statement read to journalists by his
lawyer, Patrick Orosa. Buen said he went public "to vindicate my good
name and reputation," and he disputed contentions he had been in
hiding.

"In an effort to restore some semblance of normalcy to my life and
that of my family, I should like to categorically state for the record
that I have no involvement or participation whatsoever in the design,
development, creation or dissemination of the "ILOVEYOU" virus,"
Buen's statement said.

Buen did not answer questions, citing an ongoing criminal
investigation. His lawyer said Buen had met with the National Bureau
of Investigation and had not received any summons to return. Orosa did
not expect any charges, but declined to discuss what Buen had told the
NBI.

Buen became a focus of the "Love Bug" probe when officials at the AMA
Computer College said last week that a program used in his thesis
project could have been combined with the work of a fellow student,
Onel A. de Guzman, to create the powerful virus.

Buen graduated May 5, but de Guzman did not, after faculty rejected de
Guzman's password-stealing thesis proposal as an unacceptable means to
commit cyber theft.

Buen pointed out his thesis used "a program entirely distinct and
different from the 'ILOVEYOU' virus, and more importantly, was
accepted by AMA Computer College as a legitimate program, not contrary
to law."

Sitting with three lawyers and his mother, Emma, the 23-year-old Buen
held his face up, staring directly into news cameras and appearing
calm. His relaxed manner stood in contrast to Thursday, when de Guzman
met with reporters, wearing dark glasses and frequently shielding his
face with a towel as he acknowledged he might have accidentally
released the virus.

NBI investigators have named de Guzman and Buen as "possible
suspects," though it could be difficult to bring any criminal charges
against the author or authors of the virus.

The relatively low-tech Philippines had never passed legislation
defining high-tech offenses before the virus was released May 4.

Seeking to fill that legal gap, Philippine politicians said Sunday
they are scrambling to outlaw computer hacking.

The virus infected the computers of anyone who opened an e-mail
attachment entitled "ILOVEYOU," then moved onto to all e-mail
addresses stored in Microsoft Outlook, a popular e-mail program.

It surged with astounding speed through global systems, crippling
communications from the CIA to the British Parliament and through
untold numbers of businesses at a cost estimated at up to $10 billion.


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