The 18-year-old hacker who helped leak the Grand Theft Auto VI footage ahead of public release has been sentenced to life in a secure hospital prison, according to the BBC. Arion Kurtaj, from Oxford, England, is a member of the notorious cybercriminal gang Lapsus$, and is “severely” autistic. A judge sentenced Kurtaj to life in prison after he was deemed a “high risk to society because he still wants to commit cybercrime.”
Kurtaj stole and leaked 90 clips of the unreleased and widely anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI title by Rockstar Games. He threatened the video game developer on their official internal Slack channels that “if Rockstar doesn’t contact me on Telegram within 24 hours I will release the source code.”
The clips and partial source code for the video game were posted on a hacking forum by Kurtaj under the username “TeaPotUberHacker” in September 2022.
He will remain in prison for life until doctors deem him safe to return to society.
Kurtaj reportedly has been violent since his arrest, with numerous incidents of property damage and injury.
The arrest and sentence are controversial, as the severity of Kurtaj’s autism left him unable to stand trial.
According to the BBC:
Doctors deemed Kurtaj unfit to stand trial due to his severe autism so the jury was asked to determine whether or not he committed the alleged acts – not if he did so with criminal intent.
A mental health assessment used as part of the sentencing hearing said he “continued to express the intent to return to cyber-crime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated.”
Lapsus$ Hacker has a history of cybercrime
Despite his young age, Kurtaj has participated in numerous high-profile cyber crimes as part of the cybercriminal gang Lapsus$.
Kurtaj was already on bail after being found partially responsible for prior NVIDIA and BT/EE hacks but was under police custody at a Travelodge hotel. Without any laptop access, Kurtaj used an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV, and a mobile phone to carry out the hack against Rockstar for the Grand Theft Auto VI footage.
Lapsus$ is comprised mostly of teenagers and young adults but has been highly effective in breaching global corporations and stealing intellectual property. Past victims include NVIDIA, Uber, and Okta, among many others. It’s believed at least some of the key members of Lapsus$ reside in Brazil.
Despite the high-profile leaks, there doesn’t seem to be an impact on the Grand Theft Auto brand or hotly anticipated sequel. The official trailer from Rockstar Games of Grand Theft Auto VI has amassed over 156 million views in just two weeks, despite the previously leaked clips.
