Computer virus creators rarely face jail
Although nearly 63,000 viruses have rolled through the Internet, causing an estimated $65 billion in damage, criminal prosecutions have been few, penalties light and just a handful of people have gone to prison for spreading the destructive bugs.
A Minnesota teenager was arrested Friday, accused of disseminating a version of "Blaster." But investigators scrambling to trace that infection, along with "Sobig" and other computer viruses face a daunting challenge: an incredibly hard-to-track international crime set in an obscure and anonymous environment.
They also say they are hampered by antiquated laws and, for many years, a winking or even admiring attitude toward virus creators.
https://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/...s.ap/index.html
I think with alot of the technology we have today, they could probably catch more than just a few of these people. But I also know it's like finding a needle in a haystack. The way I look at it, if they can catch one or two, they probably could catch more than that, if the officials really wanted to go after these hackers and virus creators.