WannaCry stop: internet hero or common scammer

Those who watched WannaCry a year ago will remember the young man from the UK who stopped the threat when he discovered a kill switch. The young man was then known as @MalwareTechBlog, and bought a domain that used WannaCry to stop the attacks.

The ransomware was trying to connect to a specific domain that had a very strange one . Σε περίπτωση που η σύνδεση ήταν δυνατή οι επιθέσεις σταματούσαν, ενώ στην αντίθετη περίπτωση (κάτι που συναίβενε αναπόφευκτα πριν αγοραστεί το συγκρκριμένο domain name), οι επιθέσεις από το ransomware συνεχιζόταν.

In a nutshell: the purchase and activation of the domain that existed in the malware code acted as a sort of kill-switch, turning @MalwareTechBlog into a hero of the internet.
WannaCry

Initially, @MalwareTechBlog stayed in the spotlight until it went to Las Vegas in August of 2017 to attend DEF CON. Then his real identity was revealed: Marcus Hutchins.

But Hutchins was "already known to the police" and was arrested at Las Vegas Airport shortly before his scheduled return to the UK, accused of creating and distributing a malicious banking software known as Kronos.

Hutchins pleaded not guilty and was released with guarantee. Of course he had to stay in the US, but he was allowed to continue working for his American employer until the trial took place.

Unfortunately, his adventures do not stop here. For MARCUS HUTCHINS, also known as "Malwaretech", also known as "irp@jabber.se", there are ten new categories that claim that:

It promoted, helped and encouraged the diffusion of advertisements with electronic devices and electronics in general, knowing that the design of these mechanisms offers covert monitoring of electronic communications.

American researchers claim that Hutchins is associated with another malicious tool called UPAS Kit. This malware is allegedly being advertised as a "modular HTTP bot" and can be used to steal data.

According to the authorities, the UPAS Kit was recording personal such as PINs, credit card numbers, social security numbers and more.

In addition, the FBI charges Hutchins for perjury when he was arrested last year. Obviously, Hutchins admitted that he wrote the code that existed in Kronos malware, but he did not admit that he was making the malware. He claims to have realized that his code was used by scammers, 2016 when he analyzed the Kronos malware.

The FBI says the accused did not tell them the truth:

in fact, as Hutchins knew then, because since November 2014, he has made many statements […] in which he acknowledged his role in the development of Kronos.

Let's say the charges relate to Hutchins' activities that took place before closing 18.

Is Hutchins a hero, or a scammer? Can they both be? We will probably learn when the proceedings are completed by the American courts.

What did your story tell you about WannaCry and Hutchins? If you are also tempted to flirt with the dark side and the cyber crime, we urge you not to do it!

You will find a lot of programs source code and programming communities, where your help will be welcome and instead of going to court, you'll grow your experience and build your resume.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

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