Hacker who leaked GTA 6 is sentenced to life in hospital

Responsible for publicly disclosing several details about GTA 6 in September 2022, hacker Arion Kurtaj will spend the rest of his life in a hospital. A British court ruled that the young man “remains a high risk to the public due to his abilities and motivations”, but is not fit to go to a regular prison.

In addition to having autistic characteristics, Kurtaj has also been described as having violent behavior towards law enforcement authorities. The young man was only 16 years old at the time he invaded Rockstar Games using the identity Lapsus$. This happened while he was detained for breaking into NVIDIA, EE and Revolut systems.

I’m at Guildford Crown Court for the long-delayed sentencing of two teen hackers from the Lapsus$ gang. Arion Kurtaj hacked Rockstar Games in 2022 leaking 90 clips of unfinished GTA6 gameplay. He and his accomplices also hacked Nvidia, EE, and Revolut in their hacking spree.

— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) December 21, 2023

According to Joe Tidy, a BBC correspondent who was present when the verdict was announced, Kurtaj must remain under medical supervision until such time as he is no longer considered a danger. Initially, he must spend 18 months under a youth rehabilitation orderbeing prohibited from using any VPN to browse the internet.

GTA 6 hacker is willing to commit crimes again

The court that ordered the young hacker’s compulsory hospitalization also ruled that he should not undergo a traditional trial. Thus, his intention was to determine whether he had committed acts that were considered illegal, without taking into account whether there was a conscious motivation for doing so.

The young man who stole data from GTA 6 is willing to commit new invasionsSource: Disclosure/Rockstar Games

The BBC reports that the jury responsible determined in its sentencing that Kurtaj “continued to express an intention to return to cybercrime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated.” The decision is in accordance with statements by Claudia Camden-Smith, the psychiatrist in charge of accompanying the defendant during the legal proceedings.

At the time he broke into Rockstar Games and stole more than 90 GTA 6 files, the young man was already under police protection and had his laptop confiscated. However, he managed to use an Amazon Fire Stick device connected to a hotel television and a smartphone to steal the developer’s materials.