Cyber expert who stopped ‘WannaCry’ attack admits to malware charges

A British cyber security researcher hailed as a hero for neutralising the global “WannaCry” ransomware attack in 2017 has pleaded guilty to US charges of writing malware.

Marcus Hutchins, who was charged on 10 counts in the United States, pleaded guilty to two of them, with the US government agreeing to move towards dismissing the remaining counts at the time of the sentencing, according to a filing at the US District Court in the eastern district Wisconsin.

“I’ve pleaded guilty to two charges related to writing malware in the years prior to my career in security”, Hutchins, also known online as MalwareTech, said in a statement.