Summary
Arion Kurtaj, the hacker responsible for leakingGrand Theft Auto 6clips, has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. Following the controversy surrounding theGrand Theft Auto 6cyber-attack by the hacker group Lapsus$, the judge overseeing the case cited Kurtaj’s ongoing risk to the public and made a decisive ruling.
In December, theGTA 6trailer was leaked, unveiling a lot of details about the highly-anticipated action-adventure game developed by Rockstar. The game is set in the fictional state of Leonida, inspired by Florida. This newGTAinstallment breaks tradition by introducing Lucia, the first female lead character in the franchise. Before theGTA 6trailer’s leak a day before its official release, Rockstar was a victim of a hacker attack caused by Arion Kurtaj, a member of the hacker group called Lapsus$.
Asreported by BBC, 18-year-old hacker Arion Kurtaj, affiliated with the international hacker gang Lapsus$, has been given an indefinite hospital order for his role inleakingGrand Theft Auto 6clips. Kurtaj was deemed a high risk to the public by the judge, who emphasized his cybersecurity skills and demonstrated desire to engage in cybercrime. Psychiatry revealed that he “continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated.”
In July, a group of psychiatrists declared thisGTA 6hacker unfit for trial due to autism. However, the hacker couldn’t escape any punishment, and this particular sentence will keep him in a secure hospital unless doctors determine he no longer poses a danger. Kurtaj’s cyber exploits involved using an Amazon Fire Stick to breach the Rockstar Games database while on bail, resulting in 90 stolen clips ofGTA 6. “If Rockstar does not contact me on Telegram within 24 hours, I will start releasing the source code,” Kurtaj announced to Rockstar after breaking into its internal messaging.
Lapsus$ gained notoriety in the past for targeting major technology companies such as Uber, Nvidia, and Rockstar Games. The latest hack reportedly cost Rockstar development $5 million to recover from. However, Kurtaj’s defense argued that the companywasn’t affected by the leak, given the tremendous success theGrand Theft Auto 6trailer achieved,even breaking YouTube views records.
He continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated.
While Kurtaj faces his sentence, a 17-year-old hacker, also a Lapsus$ member, was found guilty in the same trial of stealing data from big companies and demanding a four million dollar ransom. It remains unclear if there are more individuals responsible for theGTA 6hacker attack. Despite mental health considerations, it is expected that Kurtaj’s sentence will prevent him from engaging in similar future cyber-attacks.
Grand Theft Auto 6
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Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
