Arraignment of British cybersecurity expert postponed

MILWAUKEE — A British cybersecurity figure hailed as a crime fighter just three months before his arrest in a worldwide malware production and distribution case might still be in Las Vegas ahead of his arraignment next week in a federal court in Wisconsin, according to terms set by a judge.

Attorneys and advocates for Marcus Hutchins, 23, of Ilfracombe, England, didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to telephone and email messages about his whereabouts following his release Monday from a jail in Southern Nevada.

But jail and federal officials say he was released, and pointed to terms set by the judge who on Friday set Hutchins’ bail at $30,000.

Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe said Hutchins would have to stay at a federal halfway house or under house arrest in Las Vegas with an ankle monitor until he travels to Milwaukee for arraignment on a sixcount federal indictment.

The judge didn’t find Hutchins a threat to the community or a risk not to attend court appearances. She nevertheless ordered him to surrender his passport to federal officials and not use any device that has access to the internet.

Hutchins’ arraignment had been set Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, but was reset for

Aug. 14, said Elizabeth Makowski, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office.

He was arrested Aug. 2 in Las Vegas on federal charges that he created and distributed a malware program to obtain banking passwords.

Hutchins was credited with helping in May to curb the spread of Wannacry ransomware during an attack that crippled thousands of computers .

He did not enter a plea at Friday’s hearing to six federal charges dating to 2014, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud.