[wizzwizz4]

He didn't know it was the kill-switch domain. He expected it would enable him to kill the malware, though, and was trying to figure out how to send the kill command before it turned out that simply sitting a server behind the domain was enough to kill it.

[vikbytes]

I mean, how does one solve a problem with unknowns? You try different things until you make some progress and work from there. Turns out he didn't have to do more than registering the domain but just because the problem turned out to be simple to resolve, doesn't make solving it an accident.

[Jestar342]

What a pointlessly flippant argument. Hutchins discovered, and engaged, the WannaCry killswitch. Irrevocable fact.

[newtypems]

The question is, what would he have done if it wasn't a kill switch, but happened to be a server that received bitcoin payments from ransomware victims?

He was still selling banking trojans the year before, so who knows?

[bsd44]

Nobody ever knows something until they do it. I don't understand what are you trying to say.

[wizzwizz4]

The same thing as everyone who's replied so far: that he deserves at least some of the credit for achieving what he set out to do.