12/07/09
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Rick Astley worm creator 'Rickrolls' his way to a job designing iPhone
Who says crime doesn't pay? For one cyber criminal, his days as a hacker have led to a full-time – and legit – job. Ashley Towns, a 21-year-old student who goes by the names “Ikee” and “Ikex,” who created a worm that attacked iPhone users has been hired by Australian firm Mogeneration, after the company learned about his worm, he reportedly revealed himself on his Twitter feed. Towns' worm spread among Australian jailbroken iPhones in early November and did little harm, unless you don't appreciate 1980s pop songs. The worm replaced the user's wallpaper image with a photo of 1980s pop singer Rick Astley and the words “ikee is never going to give you up,” a reference to Astley's hit song, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said the move sends the wrong message to hackers. “What disheartens me is that Towns has shown no regret for what he did,” Cluley told TechWorld. “Now his utterly irresponsible behavior appears to have been rewarded.” The worm launched by Towns was quickly followed by a more malicious attack that builds a botnet that steals data, including online banking credentials, from jailbroken Apple smartphones.