British cyberresearcher pleads not guilty to US hacking charges

Marcus Hutchins (R) the British cyber security expert accused of creating and selling malware that steals banking passwords arrives at US Federal Courthouse on August 14, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. / AFP PHOTO / Joshua Lott

SAN FRANCISCO: British cybersecurity researcher Marcus Hutchins pleaded not guilty on Aug 14 to federal charges he built and sold malicious code used to steal banking credentials. 

Hutchins, 23, rose to overnight fame within the hacker community in May when he helped defang the global "WannaCry" ransomware attack, which infected hundreds of thousands of computers in May and caused disruptions at factories, hospitals, shops and schools in more than 150 countries.