Teenager who leaked Grand Theft Auto 6 footage blackmailed developer Rockstar over video game sequel
A teenage hacker blackmailed builders of the best-selling videogame franchise Grand Theft Auto by threatening to launch plans for its long-anticipated sequel, a court docket heard.
Arion Kurtaj, 18, hacked Rockstar Video games final September and threatened to launch the supply code for its upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 video game, Southwark Crown Court docket was informed.
He additionally triggered $3m in harm after he hacked taxi firm Uber, in addition to accessing the data of 5,000 clients of fintech agency Revolut.
Kurtaj, who has autism, was assessed by psychiatrists and was discovered not match to face trial. The jury was requested to search out whether or not he had dedicated the acts reasonably than discover him responsible or not responsible.
He was discovered to have dedicated 12 offences together with three counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud and 6 breaches of the Laptop Misuse Act.
In 2021, Kurtaj hacked and blackmailed Britain’s largest broadband supplier BT Group and cellular operator EE, threatening to delete knowledge from servers until he was paid $4m.
He additionally hacked chipmaker Nvidia Corp in February 2022, taking round one terabyte of delicate knowledge, releasing about 80 gigabytes and threatening to publish the remainder.
The court docket heard Kurtaj and a 17-year-old, who can’t be named for authorized causes, have been “key gamers” in hacking group Lapsus$.
The 17-year-old was discovered responsible of 1 depend of fraud, one depend of blackmail and one depend underneath the Laptop Misuse Act regarding Nvidia.
He was discovered not responsible of 1 depend of blackmail and one depend underneath the Laptop Misuse Act in relation to BT. The 17-year-old had beforehand pleaded responsible to 1 depend underneath the Laptop Misuse Act and one depend of fraud in relation to the BT hack.
He had additionally admitted a Laptop Misuse Act offence regarding the hacking of the Metropolis of London Police’s cloud storage, weeks after the pressure arrested him in 2022.
Grand Theft Auto is likely one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, with over 405 million items shipped worldwide.
In 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 was launched and generated £650m in worldwide income inside 24 hours of its launch. Followers have waited almost 11 years for the game’s sequel Grand Theft Auto 6 however few particulars had been launched earlier than the leak.
