---
title: Security Hero or Villain? More Charges Against Researcher Marcus Hutchins
description: Security researcher Marcus Hutchins charged with more crimes. Marcus Hutchins reacts to charges. Who is Marcus Hutchins' attorney? How government charges against security researchers can hurt cybersecurity.
---

[SecureWorld News ](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news)

# [Security Hero or Villain? More Charges Against Researcher Marcus Hutchins](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/security-researcher-marcus-hutchins)

 Written by [SecureWorld News Team](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/author/secureworld-news-team) | Thu | Jun 7, 2018 | 8:58 PM Z

Remember when the InfoSec world was thanking security researcher Marcus Hutchins for stopping the spread of WannaCry?

People were equally stunned when officials arrested him in Las Vegas.

And now, there is this: The U.S. Government just filed more charges against Hutchins in what is called a* superseding indictment*, or in layman's terms, charges on top of charges. You can [read the indictment here](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4496027-Superseding-Indictment.html).

The new charges are related to malware that Hutchins allegedly developed called UPAS Kit. The indictment says it was designed to "install silently and not alert anti-virus engines."

#### **Hutchins tweets about his change of fortune**

I can only imagine what it would be like to go from world hero to government villain. Here's a glimpse from Hutchins and his [@MalwareTechBlog](https://twitter.com/malwaretechblog) Twitter account.

Last year:

This year:

His attorneys shared on Twitter, as well, to defend their client.

So is Marcus Hutchins a cybersecurity hero or a villain?

Well, we know this much for sure: He is highly respected among security researchers.

[SecureWorld](https://www.secureworld.io/) contributor and security researcher Chris Roberts made that very clear—along with the potential [impact the Hutchins charges can have on security research](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/what-the-charges-against-marcus-hutchins-mean-for-other-security-researchers) he and his peers are doing.

[View full post](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/security-researcher-marcus-hutchins)

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