Cybersecurity
Surfer Who Saved the World from WannaCry Gets Ready for the Next Big Virus
- Marcus Hutchins, 23, halted ransomware campaign from bedroom
- He was fast asleep on English coast when Petya struck
Surfer Who Saved World From WannaCry Attack Girds For Next Wave
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The 23-year-old who saved the world from a devastating cyberattack in May was asleep in his bed in the English seaside town of Ilfracombe last week after a night of partying when another online extortion campaign spread across the globe.
Around 6 p.m. on June 27, Marcus Hutchins, a self-taught computer-security researcher and avid surfer, was awakened by a phone call from a colleague telling him another attack was underway. Dreading a return of the virulent WannaCry malware that he stopped in its tracks the previous month, Hutchins logged on to his computer in the house he shares with his parents and younger brother to scan the latest reports.