Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con
Marcus Hutchins, AKA MalwareTech, previously registered a specific domain included in the ransomware’s code, which stopped the malware from spreading.
On Wednesday, US authorities detained a researcher who goes by the handle MalwareTech, best known for stopping the spread of the WannaCry ransomware virus.
In May, WannaCry infected hospitals in the UK, a Spanish telecommunications company, and other targets in Russia, Turkey, Germany, Vietnam, and more. Marcus Hutchins, a researcher from cybersecurity firm Kryptos Logic, inadvertently stopped WannaCry in its tracks by registering a specific website domain included in the malware's code.
Hutchins was arrested for allegedly creating the Kronos banking malware.
Motherboard verified that a detainee called Marcus Hutchins, 23, was being held at the Henderson Detention Center in Nevada early on Thursday. A few hours after, Hutchins was moved to another facility, according to a close personal friend.