Benzinga - by Franca Quarneti, Benzinga Staff Writer.
"Grand Theft Auto" hacker Arion Kurtaj, an 18-year-old member of the so-called Lapsus$ group, was sentenced to indefinite hospital detention for a series of cybercrimes committed in 2022.
Kurtaj's spree began while on bail for prior offenses. He targeted Revolut, accessing data from around 5,000 customers, and caused nearly $3 million in damages to Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER), BBC reported.
His most notable crime involved hacking Take-Two Interactive Software Inc's (NASDAQ: TTWO) Rockstar Games, threatening to leak the source code for the anticipated "Grand Theft Auto VI", and distributing clips of the unreleased game online.
Despite being assessed as unfit for trial due to autism, a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court determined his involvement in the crimes rather than delivering a guilty verdict.
Prior to these incidents, Kurtaj had allegedly blackmailed BT Group and EE for a $4 million ransom; hacked Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA); and breached the London police cloud storage.
The court found Kurtaj guilty of multiple offenses, including blackmail, fraud, and violations under the Computer Misuse Act.
His accomplice, a 17-year-old whose identity is protected, was also involved in Lapsus$ activities and was convicted for related crimes, receiving a youth rehabilitation order with 18 months of supervision.
Per Reuters, Judge Patricia Lees said that Kurtaj remained "determined to commit further serious offenses if the opportunity arose."
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