A donation website supporting legal defense funds for a cybersecurity researcher who was recently arrested for allegedly creating the the banking malware Kronos was taken down Tuesday, reports The Hill.
Marcus Hutchins was arrested in Las Vegas earlier this month and faces charges in a Milwaukee federal court for allegedly designing and helping to distribute the Kronos malware. Mr. Hutchins pled not guilty Monday.
Many still see Mr. Hutchins as a cybersecurity hero — he is credited with stopping the global WannaCry ransomware attack in May. Security researcher Tarah Wheeler and cybersecurity lawyer Tor Ekeland — who is not representing Mr. Hutchins — set up the donation website to raise funds to support Mr. Hutchins' legal defense. However, the site was shut down after its credit card processor discovered a hacker had used an automated program to make donations from stolen credit cards.
After determining which donations are legitimate and which are fraudulent, legitimate donations will still be sent to Mr. Hutchins' defense, according to Mr. Ekeland.
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