WannaCry Hero Arrested
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 08/04/2017 05:27 AM
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The hero that possibly saved millions from the WannaCry outbreak has been arrested by the FBI in Las Vegas on suspicion of creating and distributing the Kronos banking trojan.
Marcus Hutchins, known online as Malwaretech, is a U.K. citizen who recently attended the Black Hat and DEF CON hacker conferences.
He and an unnamed cohort are charged with six counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for their involvement with the Kronos malware.
Authorities allege that Hitchins created the malware in July 2014 and his cohort published it on a public website. The DOJ allege that the second suspect offered the malware for $2,000. The indictment also alleges that in July 2015, they began offering encryption services to help hide the malware.
The malware uses webinjects which mimic banking and financial websites. The victim is presented with a fake web page asking for personal information, passwords, ATM PIN numbers and security question details.
Hutchins is best remembered as the hacker who stopped the WannaCry ransomware by simply buying the hardcoded killswitch domain that the malware beaconed out to for a measly $10.
Source: Threat Post
Marcus Hutchins, known online as Malwaretech, is a U.K. citizen who recently attended the Black Hat and DEF CON hacker conferences. He and an unnamed cohort are charged with six counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for their involvement with the Kronos malware.
Authorities allege that Hitchins created the malware in July 2014 and his cohort published it on a public website. The DOJ allege that the second suspect offered the malware for $2,000. The indictment also alleges that in July 2015, they began offering encryption services to help hide the malware.
The malware uses webinjects which mimic banking and financial websites. The victim is presented with a fake web page asking for personal information, passwords, ATM PIN numbers and security question details.
Hutchins is best remembered as the hacker who stopped the WannaCry ransomware by simply buying the hardcoded killswitch domain that the malware beaconed out to for a measly $10.
Source: Threat Post
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