US cops Hacker admits IT attack
The British computer expert who stopped a hacking attack on the NHS has admitted he wrote a malware code that targeted bank accounts, say US police.
But Marcus Hutchins’s lawyers say he will plead not guilty.
The 23-year- old – who appeared in a US court on Friday – was hailed as a hero for stopping the WannaCry ransomware attack earlier this year.
He has now been accused of helping to create, spread and maintain the banking trojan Kronos between 2014 and 2015 and is facing six counts of hacking-related charges f rom the US Department of Justice.
On Friday, the judge ruled Hutchins – who had been in Las Vegas for the annual Def Con hacking conference – could be released on £23,000 bail.
The judge said he was not a danger to the community nor a flight risk and ordered him to remain in the US with GPS monitoring.
After the hearing, his lawyer Adrian Lobo said: “We intend to fight the case.
“He has dedicated his life to researching malware, not to trying to harm people.”
Hutchins’s supporters were raising money for his bond and she added he s hou ld be r e l e a s ed tomorrow.
Lobo said: “He has tremendous community support, local and abroad and in the computer world.”
She declined to comment on the specific charges but said he was “completely shocked” by the indictment.