LAPSUS$ Teen Hackers Found Guilty Of Audaciously Leaking GTA 6 Footage
Over the past seven weeks, the case against the alleged members of the LAPSUS$ group, ranging in age from 16 to 21, has been heard in the Southwark Crown Court in London. While some group members are too young to be named or deemed unfit to stand trial, the BBC reports that the court heard several of the group's escapades. This includes the initial hacking of telecom company BT and mobile operator EE, followed by the breaches at NVIDIA and Rockstar Games.
Regarding this final breach, the court heard what was called one of the "most audacious" attacks headed by Arion Kurtaj, who was called a key member of LAPSUS$. Though he was deemed not fit to stand trial and give evidence, it was still heard that Kurtaj executed this attack while on bail in a hotel room after being re-arrested in March of 2022.
In short, he had posted a message to an internal Rockstar Slack chat claiming to be an attacker and further claimed that he had downloaded all Grand Theft Auto 6 data and would release it if Rockstar did not contact him. This was then followed by the release of 90 gameplay videos on a fan forum by Kurtaj under the username "TeaPotUberHacker."
Now that the court has confirmed the group's actions, Kurtaj and the other unnamed 17-year-old in custody will be sentenced at a later date. Until then, Kurtaj remains in custody while the other defendant is out on bail, and both could face up to two years in prison and fines for each cybersecurity crime conviction.
