Teenage hacker accused of leaking 90 GTA 6 clips deemed psychiatrically unfit to stand trial
Topics: UK News, Mental Health, Crime, True crime, Technology
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Topics: UK News, Mental Health, Crime, True crime, Technology
Psychiatrists have deemed a teenager who was part of the GTA 6 leak scandal unfit to stand trial.
In 2022, over 90 videos and screenshots from Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6's test build were leaked online by the Lapsus$ hacking group.
Arion Kurtaj - an 18-year-old member of the hacking group - was arrested shortly after the leak, accused of hacking GTA developer Rockstar Games.
However, Kurtaj has since been deemed physically unfit to stand trial.
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In September 2022, Kutaj is accused of hacking Uber and Revolut as well as targeting Rockstar Games.
At the time, a post to GTA Forums from the alleged hacker under the name 'teapotuberhacker' read: "Hi...Here are 90 footage/ clips from GTA 6. Its. possible I could leak more data soon, GTA 5 and 6 source code and assets, GTA 6 testing build.
"My telegram is @djjdndhdbx for any question."
After going viral, the hacker later called out for an employee of Rockstar Games to get in touch, noting they were 'looking to negotiate a deal'.
Rockstar Games took to Twitter in the following days to acknowledge the hack.
It stated: "We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto.
"[...] We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way.
"Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, your players, that truly exceeds your expectations."
Kurtaj is accused of hacking Rockstar games as well as Uber and Revolut on his own - the 18-year-old reportedly causing nearly $3 million in damages to Uber.
Kurtaj and an unnamed 17-year-old are also accused of hacking and blackmailing BT Group and EE in 2021 and Nvidia Corp in February 2022.
The 18-year-old - deemed a 'key player' in the hacking group by prosecutors - has been charged with 12 offences. Six charges fall under the Computer Misuse Act, while he also faces two counts of fraud and three counts of blackmail.
However, he will no longer stand trial after psychiatrists ruled he isn't physically fit to do so.
The 17-year-old faces three charges under the Computer Misuse Act, two counts of fraud and two counts of blackmail. He has denied all charges.