Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games, Ekaterina Bolovtsova via Pexels
Topics: GTA 6, Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, no article matching
Topics: GTA 6, Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, no article matching
The teenager accused of launching a cyber attack on Rockstar Games last year and subsequently leaking Grand Theft Auto VI footage has been deemed psychologically unfit to stand trial by experts.
It’s no secret that there’s been quite a lengthy wait between Grand Theft Auto V and VI. Rockstar Games have confirmed that GTA VI exists, but otherwise have remained very tight-lipped about the project, although parent-company Take-Two Interactive may have hinted towards a 2024/25 release window. Unofficially though, over an hour’s worth of development footage was leaked online in September 2022, alongside source code and various screenshots, in what was arguably the worst leak the games industry has ever seen.
Rockstar Games confirmed the validity of the leaks as they set about issuing takedown notices. It was enough though for fans to gather that the game will likely be set in Vice City and feature dual Bonnie and Clyde style protagonists, thought to be named Jason and Lucia. Around one week after the cyber attack, on 23 September, the City of London police confirmed that they’d arrested a 17-year-old in Oxfordshire on suspicion of hacking.
At the time, journalist Matthew Keys suggested the individual was linked to a hacking group known as ‘Lapsus$’. The then 17-year-old then appeared before a court in late September, pleading not guilty. Since then, the accused has been named as Arion Kurtaj who is now 18-years-old. In the latest development, as reported by Reuters, Kurtaj has been deemed “unfit to stand trial” by psychiatrists. This means that a jury will now need to decide whether Kurtaj committed the acts, instead of delivering the usual guilty or not guilty verdict.
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As was suspected when Kurtaj was arrested, he’s also accused of hacking taxi app Uber, tech manufacturer Nvidia, and financial firm Revolut. The teen is also believed to have blackmailed mobile networks EE and BT. This means that in total, Kurtaj faces 12 charges, including three counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud, and six charges under the Computer Misuse Act. Reuters adds that an unnamed 17-year-old accomplice also faces two counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud, and three charges under the Computer Misuse Act.
Reuters claim that Kurtaj accessed the details of 5,000 Revolut customers and caused $3 million worth of damage to Uber. When it comes to Rockstar, Kurtaj allegedly threatened to release GTA VI’s source code in a staff Slack channel. On top of this, the teen was said to have demanded $4 million in ransom money from EE and BT.