The teenager behind the infamous hacking incident in which footage of the unreleased Grand Theft Auto VI game was leaked online has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

Arion Kurtaj, 18, a “principal figure” in the Lapsus$ group, has hacked into major technology companies, including Rockstar Games, the developer of the highly successful video game series.

He stole code and footage from the unreleased Grand Theft Auto VI. The long-awaited sequel It will be in stores next year, more than 10 years after it was last released.

Kurtaj Some of the stolen footage has been released In an online forum, he blackmailed developer Rockstar, threatening to release its source code if it did not contact him last September.

Judge Patricia Rees said the hack “cost Rockstar a significant loss of incalculable marketing opportunities,” adding that in addition to thousands of hours of employee labor, the company lost more than $1.5 million in outside help alone. It said it cost about $1.2 million (approximately £1.2 million).

Kurtaj also said that over a 14-month period from July 2021 to September last year, when he was 16 and 17 years old, he had access to broadband provider BT, mobile phone operator EE, software companies NVIDIA and Uber. targeted and demanded millions of dollars.

Psychiatrists had ruled that Kurtaj, who is autistic, was unfit to face charges or stand trial.

However, the jury found he had committed 12 criminal acts. The charges included six counts of committing a fraudulent act to interfere with the operation of a computer, three counts of extortion, two counts of fraud, and failure to comply. After a two-month incident, he served a Section 49 notice to disclose the keys after failing to hand over his mobile phone password when asked by police.

read more:
GTA VI trailer: What we learned from the first look at the next Grand Theft Auto game

The judge ordered him to remain in hospital indefinitely, with restrictions under Section 41 of the Mental Health Act, meaning he could only be discharged if the Attorney-General gives permission.

Courtaj, who cannot be named because of his age, pleaded guilty to one count of computer fraud and one count of fraud and was sentenced along with a 17-year-old boy who was also convicted of one count of fraud. received. He committed extortion and fraudulent activities that interfered with the operation of computers.

“You two were at the center of a series of cyber crimes carried out by a group of hackers calling themselves Lapsus$,” the judge said.

“The group targeted major technology companies, subjecting them to hacking, blackmail, and fraud.”

The court heard that the young man was a member of the group from July 2021, when he was 15, to February last year, and was involved in crimes against EE/BT and Nvidia, with the hack costing the company $5 million (approx. The court found that the remediation costs amounted to $1. .

The judge said the boy, who has been diagnosed with autism, also carried out a “brazen hack” into the City of London Police system to access CCTV footage.

This teenager used an international government official’s email address to send emergency disclosure requests to companies including Discord, Google and Uber, obtaining personal information about the people he targeted before scamming youth courts. He was also found guilty of stalking, the court heard.

He was given a Youth Rehabilitation Order including an 18-month supervision requirement and a six-month prohibited behavior requirement to stop using VPNs.