A young AMA Computer College graduate named as another potential suspect in the "Love Bug" virus case denied yesterday any involvement in the cyber catastrophe that struck e-mail systems worldwide on May 4.
"These allegations and insinuations have caused me and my family great distress," 23-year-old Michael Buen said in a statement read aloud to journalists by his lawyer, Patrick Orosa. The press conference was held at the Broadway Centrum in Quezon City.
Buen said he went public "to vindicate my good name and reputation," as he disputed contentions he had been in hiding.
"In an effort to restore some semblance of normalcy to my life and that of my family, I should like to categorically state for the record that I have no involvement or participation whatsoever in the design, development, creation or dissemination of the 'ILOVEYOU' virus," Buen's statement said.
Buen did not answer questions, citing an ongoing criminal investigation, but his lawyer said Buen had already met with probers of the National Bureau of Investigation. Buen had not received any summons to return, but Orosa declined to discuss what he had told the NBI.
Buen became a focus of the "Love Bug" probe when officials at AMA said last week that a program used in his thesis project could have been combined with the work of a fellow student, Onel de Guzman, to create the powerful virus.
Buen graduated on May 5, but De Guzman did not, after faculty rejected De Guzman's password-stealing thesis proposal as an unacceptable means to commit cyber theft.
Buen pointed out his thesis used "a program entirely distinct and different from the 'ILOVEYOU' virus, and more importantly, was accepted by AMA as a legitimate program, not contrary to law."
Sitting with three lawyers and his mother, Emma, the 23-year-old Buen held his face up, staring directly into news cameras and appearing calm. His relaxed manner stood in contrast to a press conference Thursday when De Guzman - wearing dark glasses and frequently shielding his face with a towel - acknowledged he might have accidentally released the virus.
NBI investigators have named De Guzman and Buen as "possible suspects" in the case, though they said it could be difficult to bring any criminal charges against the author or authors of the virus.
"I'm not expecting any charges to be filed against my client," Orosa said. "As far as I know, Michael is not guilty of violating any law."