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Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

posted by mrpg on Friday August 04 2017, @02:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the oh-oh dept.

canopic jug writes:

Marcus Hutchins, the 23-year-old British security researcher who was credited with stopping the WannaCry outbreak in its tracks by discovering a hidden "kill switch" for the malware, has been arrested by the FBI over his alleged involvement in another malicious software targeting bank accounts.

According to an indictment released by the US Department of Justice on Thursday, Hutchins is accused of having helped to create, spread and maintain the banking trojan Kronos between 2014 and 2015.

The Kronos malware was spread through emails with malicious attachments such as compromised Microsoft word documents, and hijacks credentials like internet banking passwords to let its user steal money with ease.

[...] Hutchins, better known online by his handle MalwareTech, had been in Las Vegas for the annual Def Con hacking conference, the largest of its kind in the world. He was at the airport preparing to leave the country when he was arrested, after more than a week in the the city without incident.

Grauniad source: Briton who stopped WannaCry attack arrested over separate malware claims

Also covered by the BBC: NHS cyber-defender Marcus Hutchins charged in US.

Update: Detention quickly turned to arrest and indictment. Also at NPR, Motherboard, and the L.A. Times.

Previously: "Biggest Ransomware Attack in History" Hits Around 100 Countries, Disrupts UK's NHS
WannaCrypt Ransomware Variant -- Lacking Kill Switch -- Seen in Wild [Updated]

Original Submission #1   Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Friday August 04 2017, @03:46PM (8 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Friday August 04 2017, @03:46PM (#548766) Homepage
    Indeed. Avoiding the US isn't just "SJW virtue signalling" (to quote the IETF story's comments, https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=17/07/17/041248 ), it's simply a practical way of avoiding a wild and unpredictable oppressive regime.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by PiMuNu on Friday August 04 2017, @03:57PM (3 children)

    by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday August 04 2017, @03:57PM (#548772)

    Ironically, the phrase "SJW signalling" is in itself "alt-right signalling". But by writing this, I am surely performing "SJW signalling" and "alt-right signalling". Proof that alt-right are SJWs!

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04 2017, @06:26PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04 2017, @06:26PM (#548818)

      Close. The alt-right and SJWs are both authoritarian followers.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04 2017, @09:25PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 04 2017, @09:25PM (#548870)

      Proof that alt-right are SJWs!

      And vice versa!

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday August 05 2017, @01:09AM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Saturday August 05 2017, @01:09AM (#548959) Journal

      Dammit, I always get lost between the second and third iteration of these recursive rectal-cranial inversions...

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Friday August 04 2017, @05:04PM (3 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Friday August 04 2017, @05:04PM (#548798) Journal

    Tourism to the U.S. Has Been in Decline Since Trump Took Office [nbcnews.com]

    You reap what you sow...

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday August 04 2017, @06:53PM

      by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Friday August 04 2017, @06:53PM (#548826) Homepage
      I think I promised I would never visit the US and by so doing contribute to the US economy back in about 2001. More people I speak to seem to be adopting that way of thinking.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 05 2017, @12:49AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 05 2017, @12:49AM (#548945)

      Its been on the decline since GWB.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by caffeine on Saturday August 05 2017, @02:44AM

        by caffeine (249) on Saturday August 05 2017, @02:44AM (#548973)

        Perhaps it is related to requiring visitors to be fingerprinted to enter the country? That was a GWb initiative from memory.