2023-08-23 18:36:54
An 18-year-old was on trial in London on Wednesday responsible for major hacks, including that of the notorious ‘Grand Theft Auto’ (GTA) publisher which clouded the game’s launch.
Arion Kurtaj, 18, was, according to the prosecution, a member of the Lapsus$ computer hacker group, as was another teenager a year younger than him tried alongside him in London.
After a two-month trial, Mr Kurtaj was found liable on Wednesday for 12 offenses including hacking, blackmail, fraud and failure to comply.
In particular, he blackmailed Rockstar Games, the publisher of GTA, by threatening to “leak the stolen source code for the GTA sequel on internet forums”, according to the indictment.
The specialized site PC Gamer had noted in September 2022 the publication of a file containing some 90 videos of “GTA VI” on gamer forums. Through the pseudonym “teapotuberhacker”, the hacker had promised to “leak more information soon”.
The case had turned into a “bad buzz” for Rockstar Games, completely ruining the game’s launch strategy, a real money machine as popular as it is decried for its violence.
Psychologists judged that Mr. Kurtaj was not in a position to be found guilty or not guilty; the jury therefore had only to establish whether he had committed the alleged acts.
The second teenager on trial, also a member of the Lapsus$ hacking group, was convicted of hacking processor maker Nvidia in February 2022 before threatening to leak key parts of the company.
The young man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of fraud, blackmail and hacking.
He was also accused of hacking telecom operators BT and EE, but the 17-year-old was found not guilty in those cases.
Neither of the two youths testified during the trial. Penalties will be handed down at a later date.
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