CASE DOSSIER sentenced

U.S. v. Marcus Hutchins (Kronos Banking Malware)

Docket: 2:17-cr-00124 Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Opened: 2017-07-12 Sector: Banking, Consumer Finance

Key Facts

Status
SENTENCED
Legal disposition
Loss Amount
$1.5 million
Stole banking credentials and redirected bank transactions in criminal markets.
Techniques
1
Verified mappings
Defendants
1
Named in charges
  • Legal Status: SENTENCED in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
  • Primary Target Sector: Banking, Consumer Finance.
  • Documented Financial Loss: $1.5 million.
  • 1 verified MITRE ATT&CK techniques substantiated with verbatim court excerpts.
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Case Summary

British malware researcher who previously halted the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak charged with authoring the Kronos banking trojan and UPAS kit years earlier as a teenager.

Procedural & Incident Timeline

2017-08-02 arrest

Hutchins arrested at Las Vegas airport following the DEF CON security conference.

2019-04-19 plea

Pleads guilty to two counts of conspiracy to distribute malicious software.

2019-07-26 sentencing

Sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release with no prison time or fines, recognizing his positive contributions in halting WannaCry.

Named Defendants & Operatives

Defendant Nationality Status Prison Term Restitution Notes
Marcus Hutchins United Kingdom sentenced Pending None Security researcher who halted WannaCry; pleaded guilty to early malware development; sentenced to time served.

Substantiated MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Technique ID Technique Name & Tactic Primary Source Evidence Excerpt Locator Verification
T1555 Credentials from Password Stores
Credential Access
"Kronos recorded user keystrokes and used form-grabbing browser hooks to intercept unencrypted login credentials from banking websites." Superseding Indictment ¶ 8, Page 4 reviewed

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Public Domain / CC0
Bluebook Legal Citation:
Cyberattack Case Library, U.S. v. Marcus Hutchins (Kronos Banking Malware), No. 2:17-cr-00124 (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin 2017), https://cyberattackcaselibrary.pages.dev/cases/us-v-hutchins-kronos-malware/
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