Suppose a person creates a self-propagating computer worm that:
- does not modify or delete any of the victim's files
- rather displays a funny message to the user
- scans other computers and spreads itself and then
- self destructs without any harm.
Would that be a punishable offense? What are the applicable laws in this case?
Note that the worm self-propagates from the personal computer of the worm writer, so the writer of the worm does not personally infect the next computer.
Note that this question is purely for knowledge/information purposes.