Man who flipped 'kill switch' on WannaCry reportedly arrested for banking virus

Marcus Hutchins, the man credited with stopping the global cyberattack WannaCry, has been arrested for allegedly creating a virus that steals peoples' online banking information, reports CNBC.

Mr. Hutchins, also known by his blogger name MalwareTech, was reportedly indicted on six counts last month. The charges allege Mr. Hutchins was involved in creating and distributing the Kronos banking Trojan, a type of malware primarily active in Canada, Germany, Poland, France and the U.K. Kronos was marketed and distributed through AlphaBay, a marketplace on the dark web that was shut down by the Department of Justice in July.

Mr. Hutchins was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, three counts of distributing and advertising an electronic communication interception device, one count of endeavoring to intercept electronic communications and one count of attempting to access a computer without authorization, according to CNBC. All alleged conduct occurred between or around July 2014 and July 2015.

A Las Vegas federal judge set bail at $30,000. Mr. Hutchins is due in federal court in Milwaukee on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

Mr. Hutchins discovered a "kill switch" in the WannaCry ransomware's code in May, which stopped the ransomware variant from distributing to new devices. However, it did not fix systems already infected, which totaled 200,000 victims in 150 countries.

More articles on health IT: 

CMS to allow both 2014, 2015 certified EHRs in 2018

GAO names 15 members to Health IT Advisory Committee

8 companies chosen for Louisville startup program

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars