British surfer, 22, credited with stopping ransomware attack

British media credited Marcus Hutchins, 22, for stopping the massive WannaCry ransomware attack from spreading around the world.

Hutchins was in his bedroom at his parents' house Friday when he accidentally triggered a "kill switch" on the cyberattack that targeted businesses, hospitals, and individuals.

The self-taught IT expert is known as 'Malware Tech' on social media.

Hutchins reportedly found a weak spot in the virus and a website address that nobody owned and purchased it. By doing so, he was able to track the virus but did not expect it to stop its spread.

According to The Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Hutchins lives in a seaside resort in northern England and is an avid surfer.

Experts are still trying to figure out who's behind the global software cyber attack. The attack used ransomware, which is malware that encrypts data and locks a user from their data until they pay a ransom. 

Cyberattacks that hit more than 100 countries across Europe and Asia Friday, impacting the public health system in Britain, apparently involved a leaked hacking tool from the National Security Agency in the United States.