Sven Jaschan, self-confessed creator of the destructive NetSky and Sasser worms, has been hired by German security company Securepoint

Sven Jaschan, self-confessed creator of the destructive NetSky and Sasser worms, has been hired by German security company Securepoint. He's been offered work as a trainee software developer working on security products, such as firewalls, even though he may go to prison for creating one of the most destructive computer viruses to date. Jaschan was charged this month with computer sabotage. No trial date has been set. Securepoint technical director Lutz Hausmann says the teenager deserved a second chance. He learned of Jaschan's desire to work in the security industry from an interview in Stern. He wrote into Stern inviting Jaschan to apply; the teenager responded, an interview was set up and Jaschan was offered a job. "He has some know-how but not a high level of skills in software development. He was the best from people who wanted a job," Hausmann said. The skills needed to develop security software are different from those needed to write malicious code. And how would Securepoint's potential customers feel about buying security software from a company employing the world's most notorious virus writer? "He [Jaschan] did a bad thing but that doesn't make him a bad person. He's interested in making things better. This is positive rehabilitation." Jaschan has been employed by Securepoint since 1 September but news of the appointment emerged last weekend, taking many in the security industry by surprise.