The defendant having waived in open court prosecution by indictment, the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey charges:

1. At all times relevant to this Information:

a. David Smith resided in Monmouth County, New Jersey;

b. A "computer virus" was a computer software program that attached itself to one or more other computer software programs to accomplish a result normally outside the common operation of the infected computer software program;

c. "Usenet" was a collection of several thousand discussion groups, commonly known as newsgroups, located on the Internet, which allowed Internet users to post public messages on a variety of topics. Newsgroup messages were circulated to thousands of computers worldwide, making the information accessible to almost anyone on the Internet; and

d. "Alt.sex" was a "usenet" newsgroup dedicated to the discussion of alternative sexual topics.

3. On or about March 26, 1999, after accessing an Internet account that he was not authorized to use, defendant David Smith posted on the newsgroup "Alt.Sex" a message with an attachment infected with the "Melissa" virus, indicating, in substance and in part, that the attachment purportedly contained a list of passcodes to pornographic websites.

4. Defendant David Smith posted the message and attachment as described in paragraph 3, intending that the infected document be downloaded, opened, and thereby infect with the "Melissa" virus any computer using certain word processing programs.

5. Upon infecting a computer, the "Melissa" virus:

a. lowered security components of certain word processing programs, making the infected computer more vulnerable to computer virus infection;

b. altered certain word processing programs such that any document created using the program would be infected with the "Melissa" virus; and

c. caused certain computers to send electronic mail with an attachment infected with the "Melissa" virus to the first fifty addresses in the computer user's address book. If the infected attachment was opened on a computer using certain word processing programs, then that computer was infected with the "Melissa" virus.

7. On or about March 26, 1999, in Monmouth County, in the District of New Jersey, and elsewhere, defendant DAVID SMITH did knowingly and willfully cause the transmission of the "Melissa" virus, as described in paragraphs 2 through 4, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally caused damage without authorization to protected computers, as described in paragraphs 5 and 6.

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1030(a)(5)(A) and 2.
 
 

ROBERT J. CLEARY
United States Attorney
 

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