The British cyber-security researcher who was praised for stalling the worldwide WannaCry cyber-attack has been arrested in Las Vegas.

Marcus Hutchins, 23, the surfer that saved the world from the Wannacry virus has been arrested by the FBI charged with involvement with Kronos – a malware used to steal banking logins.


In a twist that reads like Point break Four script Hutchins was arrested in Los Vegas attending the Black Hat and Def Con cyber-security conferences. US prosecutors claim he helped create and distribute the Kronos banking trojan between July 2014 and July 2015 and arrest him on Wednesday.

“Marcus Hutchins… a citizen and resident of the United Kingdom, was arrested in the United States on 2 August, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a six-count indictment against Hutchins for his role in creating and distributing the Kronos banking Trojan,” the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement.

“The charges against Hutchins, and for which he was arrested, relate to alleged conduct that occurred between in or around July 2014 and July 2015.”

Mr Hutchins’ job involves investigating malware.

“It looks like the US justice system has made a huge mistake,” said fellow researcher Kevin Beaumont on Twitter.

The BBC report Hutchins was arrested while at an airport. A colleague said

“We tried to visit him at [the detention centre], but he was moved before visiting hours,” they told the BBC. We’ve not had any contact with him for 18 hours now.”

Stayed tuned for how this rolls out. Our money is on a break out, quick plane ride and Hutchins surfing 50 year storm with a guy called Bodie somewhere in the Pacific.