
Judge Rules No Jail Time for WannaCry ‘Killer’ Marcus Hutchins, a.k.a. MalwareTech
Marcus Hutchins, better known as MalwareTech, has been sentenced to “time served” and one year of supervised release for developing and selling the Kronos banking malware.
Yes, Hutchins will not go to prison, United States District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller ruled today in Milwaukee County Court, after describing his good work as “too many positives on the other side of the ledger.”
In response to today’s sentencing Hutchins said: “Sentenced to time served! Incredibly thankful for the understanding and leniency of the judge, the wonderful character letter you all sent, and everyone who helped me through the past two years, both financially and emotionally.”
Marcus Hutchins, 25, is the same British malware analyst who gained notoriety in cybersecurity circles for “accidentally” helping to stop the WannaCry ransomware outbreak in 2017 that wreaked havoc in over 150 countries and brought down companies across all industries.
Hutchins was arrested by the FBI in August 2017 at Las Vegas International Airport when he was heading home to England after attending DefCon hacking conference in Las Vegas for his alleged role in creating and distributing Kronos between 2014 and 2015.
Kronos is a banking trojan that Hutchins created, which he described today in court as one of some “bad decisions” he made when he was a teenager and “deeply regret” his conduct and the harm that was caused.
Kronos malware has been designed to steal banking credentials and personal information of victims from their compromised computers, which was sold for $7,000 on Russian online forums.
images from Hacker News
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