The teenager allegedly behind the GTA 6 leaks from last year was "caught red-handed" in a hotel room hacking into Rockstar after being banned from the internet due to his bail agreement, which resulted from him already being caught hacking into other major corporations.

As the BBC (via GamesRadar) reported, 18-year-old Arion Kurtaj was staying in a hotel because he was doxxed by a rival hacking gang. However, London police found him and discovered he had an Amazon Fire Stick, mouse, keyboard, and newly bought mobile phone, clearly ignoring the terms of his bail.

Kurtaj was a part of the hacking group Lapsus$, which you've likely heard of. They're allegedly behind the infamous hacking scandals of other big tech corporations such as Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber. Kurtaj, with a rich history of hacking, had already been caught and released on bail, with the usual stipulations of not being able to use the internet to avoid any further hacking scandals. However, last year, he shared over 90 videos and screenshots taken from a GTA 6 test build.



Kurtaj's hack against Rockstar was described as his "most audacious" one yet as he posted a message to the company Slack (think a professional Discord) saying, "I am not a Rockstar employee, I am an attacker [...] If Rockstar does not contact me on Telegram within 24 hours, I will start releasing the [GTA 6] source code."

Once police found him in a hotel room breaking his bail terms, he was re-arrested and detained until his trial. However, psychiatrists deemed him not fit to stand so he did not appear at court to give evidence. That being said, prosecution lead barrister Kevin Barry said that Kurtaj and his co-conspirators displayed a "juvenile desire to stick two fingers up to those they are attacking." They allegedly left offensive messages on Slack and Microsoft Teams while also blackmailing staff.

Lapsus$' motives were never clear, as they would bounce between wanting notoriety, money, or just to have fun with each scandal. And while Kurtaj and an unnamed 17-year-old accomplice have been arrested, the gang is still believed to be at large, with members across the UK and Brazil.



Kurtaj and the 17-year-old are accused of several hacking scandals as well as using stolen SIM details to rob nearly £100,000 - they will both be sentenced at a later date by Her Honour Judge Lees.

If you missed last year's big leak, footage revealed that GTA 6 will have two protagonists, a man and a woman, who are seemingly in a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style relationship. They were shared by a GTA Forums user called 'teapotuberhacker' who, as their name suggests, claims to be behind the recent Uber hack. With the two being a part of Lapsus$, it's clear that this forums user was one of the pair.



Posted: Aug 30, 2023 11:54 pm
Related Forum: Grand Theft Auto Forum

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/grand-theft-auto-6-leaker-arrested-while-on-bail-for-hacking/