MalwareTech Researcher, Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware, Gets no Jail Time Over Malware Charges

Malwaretech researcher, Marcus Hutchins, gets one year supervised release for charges on his role in making and selling the banking malware Kronos and UPAS Kit. In April he pleaded guilty to two counts of creating malware.

The Kronos malware available in the dark web markets since 2014 for $7,00, the malware has keylogging, formgrabbing and VNC capabilities. It steals users login credentials while accessing banking services.

Marcus Hutchins is known for registering a kill switch domain in 2017 which halted the massive WannaCry ransomware which hits several organizations around the world.

Marcus Hutchins Arrested

Hutchins is a British citizen, he got arrested by FBI a few months after the WannaCry attack, while boarding a flight from Las Vegas to the UK after attending Def Con cyber-security conference.

Since the time he got arrested, he was on bail and remains in the U.S, during his bail time he shared his malware analysis skills with infosec community, he published various in-depth malware analysis methods.

According to the court documents, he developed malware between 2012 – 2015, before he started his carrier in cybersecurity. In 2017 he was publically credited after stopping the WannaCry ransomware outbreak.

“Hutchins’ malware was purchased and used by hackers. Identifying individual attackers and victims is necessarily difficult because, as noted, sales to attackers were conducted through encrypted communications.”

“But, there is no confusion as to the criminal purpose behind the development and distribution of UPAS and Kronos. The ramifications of Hutchins’ inventions are still being felt today.”

Prosecutors said that “Hutchins no longer produces malware and instead uses his skills to combat malware attacks. This is a good thing.”

Prosecutors said that he has been served and he will face no jail time in his sentence and likely bar Hutchins from re-entering the United States.

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