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The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet
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The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet

At 22, he single-handedly put a stop to the worst cyberattack the world had ever seen. Then he was arrested by the FBI. This is his untold story.

Andy Greenberg
Wired, 2020
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Background
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Few things in life are black-and-white. Neither is the story of Marcus Hutchins, a gifted computer programmer who perfected his trade creating malware and later came to save the online world from a debilitating cyberattack. In an intimate portrait of Hutchins for Wired, technology journalist Andy Greenberg lays out Hutchin’s life story, inviting readers to form their own moral conclusions. Anybody interested in cybersecurity – or just a riveting life story – will want to read this article.

Take-Aways

  • Marcus Hutchins developed a passion for computers and computer programming as a young boy.
  • As a teenager, he routinely produced malware, but became uncomfortable when a paying client nudged him into enabling financial cybercrime.
  • Hutchins caught the attention of the US cybersecurity firm Kryptos Logic, which hired him to create a botnet tracking program.

About the Author

Andy Greenberg is a senior writer for Wired, covering security, privacy and information freedom.

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