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Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

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Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#81
post #8
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The next paragraph says it was an FBI arrest.

So where is he? It surely can't be secret, regardless of who arrested him?

He's in the FBI Field Office in Las Vegas. EFF is working to arrange legal representation for him.

Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#82
post #5

> "I've spoken to the US Marshals again and they say they have no record of Marcus being in the system. At this point we've been trying to get in contact with Marcus for 18 hours and nobody knows where he's been taken," the person added. "We still don't know why Marcus has been arrested and now we have no idea where in the US he's been taken to and we're extremely concerned for his welfare." What the hell? How does s…

[deleted]

Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#83

Why in heaven's name did he travel to the US?

It's not clear to me why he should've expected arrest. He didn't write the virus, he shut it down. The arrest makes no sense. It's not a reasonable thing to have expected.

I was at DEF CON too, for what it's worth.

Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#85
post #76
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He ran a carding forum in the past, malkit.ws and then malkit.su. Virustotal passive DNS shows that it was hosted for a time on the same server as his old irc, irc.voidptr.cz https://www.virustotal.com/en/ip-address/188.190.99.148/info...

Was it him or BetaMonkey running this? If I recall correctly BM owned voidptr but both had admin access there? EDIT: Ah, found some old logs on google: http://www.exposedbotnets.com/2013/05/hf-elite-coding-team.h... [08:08] if i still owned this irc [08:09] i would shut it down and start over

BetaMonkey/TouchMe was in fact the person I was referring to who was providing support for his botnet drone builder until he dissapeared with no trace at a later date. Just could not recall the nick at the time of making my original post.

Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#88
post #21

Why are people in this thread so outraged without knowing any of the facts? For all we know there might be a legitimate charge on which he was arrested. As per him being untraceable, if he was not read his rights then the FBI just jeopardized their own case. If no one knows where he is, it's more likely that it's what Marcus wants at the moment rather than what the FBI wants.

>Why are people in this thread so outraged without knowing any of the facts

Because they've seen the same movie time and again...

Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#89
post #68
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He could call his attorney have him release a statement right? How many people traveling to the US from the UK, just to attend a conference, have an attorney they can call in the US?

What about your free public defender? Can't you tell him to make a statement or to contact someone?

They don't just give them out when you get arrested. Often you have to file paperwork, prove you're indigent, and prove you made an effort to hire an attorney.

Moreover, most public defenders are overworked. They will do their job (hopefully), but they are not your secretary. (I'm sure most will make those phone calls, out of being a decent human being, not because it's their job)

Re: Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con

#90
post #5

> "I've spoken to the US Marshals again and they say they have no record of Marcus being in the system. At this point we've been trying to get in contact with Marcus for 18 hours and nobody knows where he's been taken," the person added. "We still don't know why Marcus has been arrested and now we have no idea where in the US he's been taken to and we're extremely concerned for his welfare." What the hell? How does s…

This is common even in routine police arrests. People can disappear for hours or even days[0][1]. It's hard to believe but well documented. Ask any criminal attorney.

0: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-poli...

1: My brother's arrest

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