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By Eric Lieberman
The British computer researcher who helped curb the massive cyber attack that allegedly affected over 150 countries says he plans to donate his $10,000 reward to charity.
While his identity has not been confirmed, the 22-year-old tech wunderkind says he doesn’t care about the extra attention.
“I don’t do what I do for money or fame,” the tech expert, who is known online as MalwareTech, told Business Insider. “I’d rather give the money to people who need it.”
So @Hacker0x01 have awarded me a $10,000 bounty for the "kill-switch". I plan on splitting it between to-be-decided charities and education.
— MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 15, 2017
By education I mean I plan to purchase infosec based book to give to students who cannot afford them themsleves.
— MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 15, 2017
Several entities across the world were unable to gain entry into their computer systems because of a ransomware attack that took full effect Friday.
Ransomware is a form of infected software designed to take over a computer system and then block access for the authorized user. Nefarious hackers often encrypt information vital to the performance of hospitals or other institutions, then demand money (usually in the form of BitCoin, a digital currency) in return for the encryption password. The cybercriminals only made approximately $50,000 worth of BitCoin from the hacking enterprise, according to a CNBC report published Monday.
Several hospitals and health facilities in the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) erupted into chaos after staff couldn’t access critical files and were forced to reroute emergency patients. Days later, the cyber attack’s effects were reportedly still reverberating. (RELATED: UK Government Run Health Care Was Hacked Due To 15-Year-Old Windows System)
An NHS official says the two main issues are returning the computer systems completely back to normal, and managing to reschedule all of the medical procedures and appointments, reports Financial Times.
MalwareTech was able to help stave off the ransomware assault by noticing that website address in the infected code was not yet registered. He then bought it from a domain name registrar service for $10.69, which allowed him to target and dispel the malware.
Since his great and highly consequential success, people want to know who exactly the mysterious MalwareTech is. But his newly gained celebrity status is not without some frustration.
Current Policy: if you turn up at my house you're crossed off the list of potential media outlets I will do an exclusive with.
— MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 15, 2017
For the record I don't "fear for my safety", I'm just unhappy with trying to help clear up Friday's mess with the dorbell going constantly.
— MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 15, 2017
Only funny thing in all this is me climbing over the back wall to avoid journalists would make a perfect *freeze frame* *record scratch*
— MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 15, 2017
The fame doesn’t seem to be all bad, though.
Now I definitely need to swim more 😀 https://t.co/qqi0pV5rEX
— MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 16, 2017
Not only did he get rewarded $10,000 from a “bug bounty” platform, which grants people money for solving security issues, but he was also promised free pizza for a year.
