GTA 6: Hacker who leaked game images sentenced to life in a hospital

The hacker responsible for stealing and leaking dozens of GTA 6 clips last year has been sentenced to life in a hospital, according to a BBC report.

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Arion Kurtaj, 18, can only be released in the future if doctors decide he no longer poses a danger to others. He was arrested by London police in Oxford in September 2022 after the game images began circulating on social media.

At the time, he pleaded not guilty and was later tried for cybercrimes associated with the Lapsus$ hacker group, which included breaches of Uber and Nvidia, as well as leaking information about GTA 6, which had not yet been announced by Rockstar Games.

Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar’s systems from his hotel room using only an Amazon Firestick. He posted that he was a hacker on the company’s Slack and later threatened to release the GTA 6 source code unless Rockstar negotiated with him through Telegram.

Health professionals deemed Kurtaj unfit to stand trial due to his acute autism. However, the jury determined that he was responsible for the cyberattacks, even though they couldn’t judge the criminal nature of his acts.

During the sentencing, a mental health assessment determined that Kurtaj “continued to express an intention to return to cybercrime as soon as possible,” calling him “highly motivated,” according to the BBC report.

Testimony in court also stated that he was violent while in custody awaiting trial. As a result, he will now be held in a secure hospital for the rest of his life.