WannaCry Ransomware Hero Arrested for the Creation of Kronos Banking Trojan

The man who was praised worldwide for blocking the infamous WannaCry Ransomware, which was spreading like wildfire months ago, has been arrested for the birth of a banking Trojan called Kronos. The man in question, Marcus Hutchins, is originally from the UK. He's 23 years old and has already become a popular malware researcher. He uses Twitter as his primary social platform where he could be found as @MalwareTechBlog. Hutchins is an employee of Kryptos Logic, which is a malware research company. The term for hackers, who don't use their skills with malicious intent, but instead to fight against those who do, is a white hat hacker. This is how he was widely accepted as, before the Kronos Trojan incident.

What Happened To The Hero Who Stopped WannaCry?

Marcus Hutchins decided to attend Def Con, which is held in Las Vegas is among the biggest hackers' conferences that take place every year. Anyway, on the 2nd of August, just as Hutchins was about to get on a plane back home after the conference he was arrested by the FBI at the McCarran airport. The premise under which he was detained was for taking part in the creation of the banking Trojan Kronos which is able to obtain sensitive banking data and use it for emptying bank accounts. The threat was sold on a Deep Web market called AlphaBay for about $7,000. The actions played out somewhere between July 2014 and July 2015. Earlier this year the illegal market was discovered by the law enforcement and taken down. It is important to mention that the government report cited another suspect as well, but their name was not included. There are rumors that the second suspect is only charged for selling the Kronos banking Trojan, while Marcus Hutchins is suspected of being the brain behind the operation and the Trojan itself.

The Charges Against Marcus Hutchins

The list of charges pressed against Hutchins is quite impressive, to say the least. The popular malware researcher has been accused of:

• Three counts of distributing and advertising electronic communication interception devices.
• One count of attempting to intercept electronic communications.
• One count of attempting to gain unauthorized access to a computer.
• One count of attempting to commit computer fraud and abuse.

Experts Doubt Hutchins Criminal Claims

Fellow malware experts Andrew Mabbitt and Kevin Beaumont have voiced their doubts about the validity of the Department of Justice claim. They tweeted out that there must have been a mistake made since they know Hutchins well and he wouldn't engage in such illegal activities. They say that he doesn't create malicious software but fights against it.

What Is Marcus Hutchins' Fate

The Department of Justice refuses to announce where the hacker is being held. His friends have been tweeting out and asking to know where their mate has been taken. Hutchins' last known location is Las Vegas, Nevada where he was arrested. The current charges could rack up around 40 years of prison time for Hutchins, but it is likely that the final verdict will be much different from what we can predict, and it is entirely possible that many of the charges might be dropped during the long lawsuit that awaits.

Has the supposed hero been playing on both teams the entire time, or did the US law enforcement make a big mistake? Let's hope we find out soon.