The British cyber security researcher who helped stop the spread of the WannaCry ransomware has been arrested in the US on charges that he assisted with the creation of malicious software targeting banks.
Marcus Hutchins, who goes by the name “Malwaretech” online, was arrested on six counts on Wednesday as he tried to fly home from Las Vegas, where he was attending the cyber security conferences Black Hat and Def Con.
In the indictment, the US Department of Justice said Mr Hutchins created the Kronos banking Trojan, malicious software used in cyber attacks, and conspired with another defendant to sell the malware on internet forums for $2,000-$3,000. The indictment claims the malware was created and sold in 2014 and 2015.