On Wednesday, an 18-year-old appeared on trial in London responsible for serious hacking attacks, including against the notorious Grand Theft Auto (GTA) publisher that thwarted the game’s release.
Arion Kurtaj, 18, was a member of the computer hacking group Lapsus$, according to the indictment, as was another teenager, a year his junior, who tried alongside him in London.
After a two-month trial, Mr Kurtaj was found liable on Wednesday for 12 offenses including hacking, racketeering, fraud and non-compliance.
Specifically, he blackmailed Rockstar Games, the publisher of GTA, by threatening to “disclose the stolen source code for the GTA sequel on internet forums,” according to the indictment.
In September 2022, the specialist website PC Gamer pointed out the publication of a file with around 90 videos from “GTA VI” in gamer forums. Under the pseudonym “teapotuberhacker,” the hacker had promised “to reveal more information soon.”
The case had caused an uproar at Rockstar Games and completely ruined the launch strategy of the game, a real money machine that was as popular as it was notorious for its violence.
Psychologists concluded that Mr Kurtaj could be found neither guilty nor innocent; The jury therefore only had to determine whether he had committed the alleged acts.
The second teenager on trial, also a member of the Lapsus$ hacker group, was found guilty in February 2022 of hacking processor maker Nvidia before threatening to divulge key parts of the company.
The young man, whose name cannot be released for legal reasons, was found guilty of fraud, extortion and hacking.
He was also accused of hacking telecom operators BT and EE but the 17-year-old was found not guilty in those counts.
Neither youth testified at the trial. Penalties will be imposed at a later date.