British hacker pleads not guilty in ransomware attack
MILWAUKEE — A British cybersecurity researcher credited with helping curb a recent worldwide ransomware attack pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges accusing him of creating malicious software to steal banking information three years ago.
Marcus Hutchins entered his plea in Wisconsin federal court, where prosecutors charged him and an unnamed co-defendant with conspiring to commit computer fraud in the state and elsewhere. Authorities arrested the 23-year-old man on Aug. 2 at Mccarran International Airport in Las Vegas, where he was going to board a flight to his home in Ilfracombe, England. He had been in Las Vegas for a cybersecurity convention.
Hutchins’ attorney, Marcia Hofmann, said after Monday’s brief hearing that Hutchins will fight the charges and that “when the evidence comes to light, we are confident he will be fully vindicated.”
Hutchins is free on $30,000 bail, but with strict conditions. His bond has been modified so that he can stay in Los Angeles near his attorney and travel anywhere in the U.S., but he cannot leave the country. He was also granted access to use a computer for work, a change from an earlier judge’s order barring him from using any device with access to the internet.
Hutchins is required to wear a GPS monitor, but Duffin said the court will consider removing that requirement once Hutchins has found a home in Los Angeles and is complying with the terms of his bond.
The next hearing in the case was set for Oct. 17, with an Oct. 23 trial date, though the latter was expected to change due to the case’s complexity.