14 DAY TRIAL // On behalf of Robert S. Mueller III, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director James E. Finch today presented certificates for "Exceptional Service in the Public Interest" to nine Microsoft employees, including Brad Smith, Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel, for their assistance in the swift resolution of the 2005 Mytob/Zotob computer worm investigation.
Microsoft's investigation into the author and distributors of the Zotob/Mytob was referred to the FBI only five days after the release of the Zotob worm in 2005. FBI agents, using the results of Microsoft's investigation, then flew to and Morocco, and assisted in the arrests of two individuals 12 days after the worm started causing damage. This month, one of the individuals was sentenced to two years in prison in Morocco for his role in writing and distributing the Zotob and Mytob worms.
In addition to Smith, Microsoft employees honored in ceremonies held today at Microsoft's corporate headquarters campus were: ￭ Tim Cranton, senior director ￭ Simona Long, investigator ￭ Stirling McBride, senior manager of investigations ￭ Steve Santorelli, senior manager of investigations ￭ Val Saengphaibul, technical analyst ￭ Scott Stein, senior attorney ￭ Frank Swiderski, security software engineer ￭ Rob Vucic, security software engineer