HACK HERO IS DEFIANT
A BRITON who stopped a hacking attack on NHS computers has admitted to US police that he wrote the code of malware that targeted bank accounts.
But Marcus Hutchins will plead not guilty to hacking charges after he was arrested in Las Vegas this week.
Hutchins, 23, was hailed a hero for stopping the global WannaCry ransomware attack in May.
Now he is accused of helping to create, spread and maintain the banking trojan Kronos between 2014 and 2015 and i s facing six hacking-related charges.
Kronos has been used to steal credentials such as internet banking passwords.
Hutchins, from Ilfracombe, Devon, could face up to 40 years in a US prison.
A judge ruled on Friday that Hutchins – who had been in Vegas for the Def Con hacking conference – could be released on £23,000 bail. But he has been ordered to remain in the US with GPS monitoring. Supporters have been raising the bail cash and he is expected to be freed tomorrow.
Hutchins is known as “the ethical hacker” and his attorney Adrian Lobo said: “We will fight the case. He has dedicated his life to researching malware, not trying to harm people. He has tremendous support, local and abroad and in the computer world.”
He was “completely shocked” by the indictment.