WannaCry Hero Hutchins Pleads Not Guilty

The man credited with saving the day in the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak today pleaded not guilty to charges of developing and distributing the Kronos banking Trojan.

Marcus Hutchins, 23, aka MalwareTech, was arrested earlier this month in Las Vegas after the Black Hat USA and DEF CON security conferences held there. The UK-based security researcher went before a federal judge today in Milwaukee, Wisc., to enter his plea to the charges. Hutchins has been out on bail since Aug. 5 after friends posted his $30,000 bail.

His attorneys, Marcia Hoffman, formerly with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Brian Kleine of Baker Marquart, told reporters after the hearing that Hutchins would now be allowed to return to work.

"He is going to vigorously defend himself against these charges, and when the evidence comes to light, we are confident that he will be fully vindicated," Hoffman told reporters outside the courthouse.

Hutchins will reside in Los Angeles, and must stay in the US under GPS monitoring, and is restricted from accessing the WannaCry sinkhole that he created. Hutchins' trial is scheduled for October.

Read more about the hearing today from the BBC and the EmptyWheel blog.