GTA VI Hacker Receives Life Sentence in Secure Medical Facility
A hacker who exposed 90 videos of the forthcoming GTA VI game has been mandated to remain indefinitely in a highly secure medical facility.
The 18-year-old hacker who played a key role in leaking footage of the highly anticipated video game Grand Theft Auto VI has been sentenced to indefinitely remain in a high-security British hospital prison, according to a report from the BBC on Thursday.
The judge determined that Kurtaj, who has autism, poses a danger to the public due to his intent to continue carrying out cybercrimes if released. During the sentencing hearing, the court heard the hacker had been violent while in custody, with many reports of injuries and property damage. A mental health evaluation also concluded he still expressed a desire to engage in further hacking activities as soon as possible. As a result, he received an indefinite hospital order, meaning he must stay in the secure hospital facility unless doctors decide he no longer poses a threat.
Last August, a jury in London found that the hacker committed cyberattacks against several companies including GTA developer Rockstar Games, Uber and Nvidia. However, because he was considered mentally unfit to stand trial, the jury only determined whether he carried out the criminal acts, not whether he had criminal intent.
The teenage hacker leaked 90 videos showing gameplay from the unreleased GTA VI game while out on bail last September for previously hacking companies like Nvidia and British telecoms provider BT/EE. Despite being in a hotel under police watch, he still managed to hack Rockstar Games using the room’s Amazon Fire Stick and newly purchased tech devices.
A 17-year-old hacker linked to the group identified as Lapsus$ has been handed an 18-month community service sentence and a VPN ban for participating in the cyberattacks.
