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Microsoft offers huge reward to catch hacker

Software giant Microsoft has taken steps to show how seriously it takes internet security issues, offering a £175,000 bounty for the capture of one hacker.

The company is eager to find who was responsible for the Conficker worm, which was behind one of the worst internet security breaches of recent years.

The virus began infecting machines in October 2008 and has infected millions of computers, preventing them from receiving automatic updates and internet security scans. It also blocks the use of some internet security sites and tools.

"Microsoft's reward offer stems from the company's recognition that the Conficker worm is a criminal attack," explained a statement from the company.

Microsoft has previously issued rewards for finding the creators of viruses. In 2004, it launched a similar search for the creator of the damaging Sasser worm.

Microsoft recently had to launch "kill bits" to cover a flaw in Research In Motion's Blackberry device. The flaw could leave computers vulnerable to attacks from hackers.

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