A hacker who leaked clips from the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI will be sent to a hospital prison.
Forbes reports that 18-year-old Arion Kurtaj was sentenced to remain in the UK facility until he’s no longer a threat to the public. In August, he was found guilty of hacking Rockstar Games and companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Samsung, and Nvidia. Due to his autistic spectrum disorder diagnosis, the judge found him unfit to stand trial.
The judge also said the teen’s skillset made him dangerous. A mental health assessment doubled down, declaring that Kurtaj was “highly motivated” and “continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible.”
Kurtaj hacked Rockstar last year using an Amazon Firestick, a hotel TV, and his cell phone. He then managed to access the company’s internal Slack server and threatened to release source code if Rockstar didn’t send him a multimillion-dollar ransom. At the time, he leaked multiple videos of GTA VI gameplay and confirmed some details, including female and male characters and the game’s return to Vice City. He was subsequently arrested.
At that time, Kurtaj was out on bail for hacking Nvidia and British internet service provider EE. He belongs to the hacking group Lapsus$.
Rockstar has said the cyberattack hasn’t prevented the timeline for Grand Theft Auto VI’s development and release, which is slated for 2025.
