http://news.com.com/2100-1032-5269331.html

British teen spams former bosses, gets
arrested

By Will Sturgeon

Special to CNET News.com

Story last modified July 14, 2004, 10:51 AM PDT

An
aggrieved British teenager, fired from his $223-per-week job, has taken revenge
on his former bosses by bombarding them with 5 million e-mails, effectively
crippling their Web site.

The spam-happy youngster
was let go for failing to complete his time sheet. Feeling wronged, he decided
to launch a denial-of-service attack against his former employer, U.K. insurers
Domestic
& General Group.

The spam attack brought the
company's servers to their knees, took down the corporate Web site and cost an
estimated $33,422, or 18,000 pounds, in lost business--which would have taken
the teen almost three years to earn at his former wage.

The angry youth has
admitted to using a spam tool he downloaded from the Internet that's capable of
sending 100 e-mails every second, according to The
Sun.

According to the newspaper,
he claimed that the e-mails were harmless and contained nothing more offensive
or damaging than "classic lines" from several movies--while clearly
choosing not to revisit the fact that he sent a server-crippling 5 million of
them.

However, while he may well
have been delighted with the chaos he caused, the adolescent may have been less
thrilled when the Metropolitan Police Service's computer crime unit came
knocking on his door.

He now faces six months in
prison or a fine of up to $9,283.

The youngster has
complained of unlawful arrest to the Independent
Police Complaints Commission.

Will Sturgeon of Silicon.com
reported from London.