WannaCry’s Gray Hat with Reeves Wiedeman

Last year, the WannaCry ransomware attack shut down hospitals, public transportation systems, and governments, demanding payment to unlock key computer systems. A programmer named Marcus Hutchins was able to stop WannaCry by registering a DNS entry buried in the WannaCry code.

Not long after he stopped the WannaCry attack, Marcus Hutchins was arrested at a security conference in Las Vegas. Marcus’s arrest was due to actions that were unrelated to WannaCry. He is accused of writing a piece of malware called Kronos.

Marcus volunteered his time to help stop WannaCry–a piece of ransomware that threatened to cause billions of dollars in damages. Whether or not he was a black hat in the past, perhaps Marcus should be absolved of his past actions.

Reeves Wiedeman is a journalist with New York Magazine, and he joins the show to tell the story of WannaCry’s Gray Hat: Marcus Hutchins.

Transcript

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