WannaCry Malware Stopper Marcus Hutchins Arrested By FBI At LA Airport

According to an official indictment, authorities arrested MalwareTech – real name Marcus Hutchins, 23, from the United Kingdom – for creating and updating Kronos, a well-known banking trojan that uses a technique called web injects to insert fake login pages for online banking portals in various browsers. Hundreds of thousands of computers were infected with the malware.

The FBI refused a request for comment from Motherboard.

The activities described in the indictment took place in 2014 and 2015, so it’s unclear-if the allegations are true-whether Hutchins is still engaged in criminal activity.

Since it was created, Kronos has been configured to work on banking systems in Britain, Canada, Germany, Poland, France, and other countries, according to the DOJ.

Hutchins has been hailed a hero among cybersecurity professionals for having minimized, albeit accidentally, the impact of WannaCry ransomware on U.S. organizations after it swept across organizations Europe, creating havoc for the UK’s NHS.

A friend told ZDNet that he was “was pulled by Marshals at the lounge” after clearing security.

“If they know where I live, they could do anything”.

The big question is the identity of the co-defendant in the case, whose name is redacted in the indictment.

Hutchins’ charges: The Department of Justice released the allegations about Hutchins’ role in the Kronos hack, claiming he helped create, spread, and maintain the hack. While analyzing WannaCry’s code, Hutchins discovered a flaw: The malware contained a killswitch that could be activated simply by controlling a specific website.

The software exploited a vulnerability in the Windows operating system. “Merely creating and selling malware, on its own, isn’t enough”.

“The government needs to show intent to further a crime”, said Orin Kerr, a professor at George Washington University Law School and expert on computer crime. “This story alone doesn’t really fit”.

Motherboard originally reported that a detainee called Marcus Hutchins, 23, was being held at the Henderson Detention Center in Nevada early on Thursday, but has already been moved.

An acquaintance of Hutchins, Andrew Mabbitt, founder of Fidus Information Security, subsequently confirmed the arrest and added that he was trying to hire a lawyer on his behalf, after locating him at the FBI’s Las Vegas, Nevada field office.