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US court did not extend prison sentence to a hacker who stopped WannaCry

Marcus Hutchins, well-known in cyberspace under the pseudonym “MalwareTech”, did not receive extension of a prison sentence.

Recalling, Hutchins helped stop the WannaCry ransomware epidemic.

Markus Hutchins, originally British, according to the judge, did a lot of positive things. “Too many positives on other side of ledger”, — Judge J. P. Stadmueller said.

The court hints at participation of MalwareTech in suppressing activity of the scary WannaCry cryptographer and success in the study of malware.

Read also: Participants of hacking forums majorly discuss ransomware

As was reported, in April, Hutchins was convicted of creating and distributing malware. Hacker was arrested even earlier – in August 2017.

US law enforcement officers detained him at the Las Vegas airport. In court, MalwareTech apologized to all the victims, as well as his family and friends.

Marcus Hutchins
Marcus Hutchins

“I regret these actions and accept full responsibility for my mistakes,” Hutchins wrote in a statement posted on his website. “Having grown up, I’ve since been using the same skills that I misused several years ago for constructive purposes. I will continue to devote my time to keeping people safe from malware attacks.”

Now the researcher will be allowed to return to the UK.

Recall that according to the indictment, Markus Hutchins created bank Trojans UPAS-Kit and Kronos, and also helped his partner in terms of their distribution. Hutchins’ partner is known by such pseudonyms as “Vinny”, “VinnyK”, “Aurora 123”, “Gone with the Wind”, “Cocaine” and “Jack of All Trades”.

Daniel Zimmermann

Daniel Zimmermann has been writing about adware, browser notification abuse, unwanted programs and practical Windows cleanup for many years. He focuses on clear removal steps for everyday users and keeps Adware Guru guides grounded in observable browser symptoms.

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