WannaCry hero Marcus Hutchins pleads guilty, faces five years

UK citizen Marcus Hutchins has gone from international hero to felon after pleading guilty for his role in creating the Kronos banking trojan.

Hutchins, who found the kill switch that turned off the WannaCry ransomware in May 2017, was arrested in August of that year in Las Vegas while he was attending the Black Hat and Def Con security events. Hutchins, aka Malwaretech, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, three counts of distributing and advertising an electronic communication interception device, one count of endeavoring to intercept electronic communications, and one count of attempting to access a computer without authorization.

The specific activity that he was charged under took place between July 2014 and July 2015 and included marketing the Kronos banking trojan on the now shuttered AlphaBay dark web marketplace.

A sentencing date has not been set, but Hutchins faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his activity, according to MetroUK.