Thursday, August 3, 2017

MalwareTech cyber expert Marcus Hutchins, who ended WannaCry attack, held by FBI in Las Vegas

The cyber security researcher widely credited with helping to neutralise the global WannaCry ransomware attack earlier this year has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US officials say.

Marcus Hutchins, a British-based malware researcher who gained attention for detecting a “kill switch” that effectively disabled the WannaCry worm in May, was detained by FBI officials in Nevada, a US Marshals Service spokeswoman said.

“We are aware that he was arrested. It is not our case, it is the FBI’s case,” she said in a phone interview, declining to provide further details.

Mr Hutchins, also known as MalwareTech, allegedly conspired to advertise, sell and profit from the Kronos banking virus dating back to 2014 and 2015, according to an indictment.

A US official said the Kronos allegations were unrelated to his role in helping stop the WannaCry attack.

Mr Hutchins, 23, along with tens of thousands of other hackers, was reportedly in Las Vegas for the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences…

 

Source: MalwareTech cyber expert Marcus Hutchins, who ended WannaCry attack, held by FBI in Las Vegas – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


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