Classic Computer Magazine Archive A.N.A.L.O.G. ISSUE 69 / FEBRUARY 1989 / PAGE 7

8-Bit NEWS


Virus Prerpetrator Convicted

Donald Burleson, an ex-employee of USPA and IRA Co., an insurance and brokerage firm in Fort Worth, Texas, recently discovered that the courts of our land will no longer tolerate the spread of computer viruses. Burleson was convicted of computer sabotage after he planted a computer virus that wiped out 168,000 payroll records on USPA's computers two days after he was fired from his job. David McCown, the prosecutor, believes he is the first lawyer to get a conviction in a computer virus case. Burleson faces up to ten years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.