NHS hit hard by ransomware / Wannacry Patching

[Arthur]

 

Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

 

On Wednesday, US authorities detained a researcher who goes by the handle MalwareTech, best known for stopping the spread of the WannaCry ransomware virus.

 

In May, WannaCry infected hospitals in the UK, a Spanish telecommunications company, and other targets in Russia, Turkey, Germany, Vietnam, and more. Marcus Hutchins, a researcher from cybersecurity firm Kryptos Logic, inadvertently stopped WannaCry in its tracks by registering a specific website domain included in the malware's code.

 

At the time of writing it is not clear what charges, if any, Hutchins may face.

 

Motherboard verified that a detainee called Marcus Hutchins, 23, was being held at the Henderson Detention Center in Nevada early on Thursday. A few hours after, Hutchins was moved to another facility, according to a close personal friend.

 

The friend told Motherboard they "tried to visit him as soon as the detention centre opened but he had already been transferred out." Motherboard granted the source anonymity due to privacy concerns.

 

"I've spoken to the US Marshals again and they say they have no record of Marcus being in the system. At this point we've been trying to get in contact with Marcus for 18 hours and nobody knows where he's been taken," the person added. "We still don't know why Marcus has been arrested and now we have no idea where in the US he's been taken to and we're extremely concerned for his welfare."