U.S. judge sets $30,000 bail for UK hacker who stopped 'WannaCry'

[rooster59]

U.S. judge sets $30,000 bail for UK hacker who stopped 'WannaCry'

By John L. Smith and Dustin Volz

 

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Las Vegas set a $30,000 bail on Friday for a well-known British cyber security researcher accused of advertising and selling malicious code used to pilfer banking and credit card information.

 

Marcus Hutchins, 23, gained celebrity status within the hacker community in May when he was credited with neutralizing the global "WannaCry" ransomware attack.

 

His attorney, Adrian Lobo, told reporters Hutchins would not be released on Friday because the clerk's office for the court closed 30 minutes after his hearing concluded, leaving his defence team not enough time to post the bail.

 

Lobo told a local NBC affiliate that Hutchins would be released on Monday and that she expected him to be on a flight on Tuesday to Wisconsin, where a six-count indictment against him was filed in U.S. District Court. He was receiving support from a "variety of sources" around the world to post his bail, she said.

 

Judge Nancy Koppe dismissed a federal prosecutor's claim that Hutchins was a flight risk, though she did order him to surrender his passport. If released, Hutchins would be barred from computer use or internet access.

 

Hutchins, also known online as MalwareTech, was indicted along with an unnamed co-defendant on July 12. The case remained under seal until Thursday, a day after his arrest in Las Vegas, where he and tens of thousands of others flocked for the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conventions.

 

Hutchins allegedly advertised, distributed and profited from malware code known as "Kronos" between July 2014 and 2015, according to the indictment. If downloaded from email attachments, Kronos left victims' systems vulnerable to theft of banking and credit card credentials, which could have been used to siphon money from bank accounts.

 

He achieved overnight fame in May when he was credited with detecting a "kill switch" that effectively disabled the WannaCry worm, which infected hundreds of thousands of computers in May and caused disruptions at car factories, hospitals, shops and schools in more than 150 countries.

 

Hutchins was "doing well, considering what's gone on," Lobo, told reporters. She said Hutchins never expected to be in his current situation and that she did not know the identity of his co-defendant.

 

News of Hutchins' arrest on Wednesday shocked other researchers, many of whom rallied to his defence and said they did not believe he had ever engaged in cyber crime.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-05

[impulse]

This is one of those deals where his good deed should probably cancel out his misdeeds.  May set a precedent and get more hackers to do good in case they need a get-out-of-jail card for something in their past.

 

[hugh2121]

Sounds more like a stitch up to me.

[swanny321]

  The bail would make me wannacry.

[over it]

'His attorney, Adrian Lobo, told reporters Hutchins would not be released on Friday because the clerk's office for the court closed 30 minutes after his hearing concluded, leaving his defense team not enough time to post the bail.'

 

This is legal gamesmanship.

 

Lobo told a local NBC affiliate that Hutchins would be released on Monday and that she expected him to be on a flight on Tuesday to Wisconsin, where a six-count indictment against him was filed in U.S. District Court. He was receiving support from a "variety of sources" around the world to post his bail, she said.

 

If ever there was a case for a gofundme page, this is it.

[Grouse]

This guy is a real pointy head!

 

Should be brought home, first class and fed pizzas and Oreos 'til his heart's content. BIG opportunities beckon!

[Lokie]

This dude saved lots of countries big $$$ not so long ago (bit like Catch me if you can) If he is guilty of the charges laid against him then surely they should be looking at his good deeds on balance, it does smack of a  little of a stitch up... Not enough time to post his bail, way to go US justice system (innocent until proven guilty???) You got his passport he can't go anywhere...

 

Seems US does not apply the same conditions of certain Middle Eastern countries from what I recall, maybe because these only have links to terrorism and the funding/training of such? Ahh Oil, the Black Gold!!!

[the guest]

Yeah the Amercians know how to deal with criminals, unlike the British which probably would have given the guy a medal or knighthood. 

[wakeupplease]

6 hours ago, the guest said:

Yeah the Amercians know how to deal with criminals, unlike the British which probably would have given the guy a medal or knighthood. 

Oh My Oh My the woodwork talks

[mrwebb8825]

Homeland Security ought to be offering this guy a job at around 1m a yr and access to computer systems he could only dream of.  Have always wondered when all those old farts in charge will realize they're just not  tech savvy and start hiring people that are.

[Credo]

3 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

Homeland Security ought to be offering this guy a job at around 1m a yr and access to computer systems he could only dream of.  Have always wondered when all those old farts in charge will realize they're just not  tech savvy and start hiring people that are.

He would have trouble passing the security clearance for Homeland Security.   He could, however, get a job in the White House, where it seems everyone gets a security clearance.