The 18-year-old hacker who leaked almost 100 clips of the not yet released Grand Theft Auto VI game has been sentenced to life in a hospital prison.
Arion Kurtaj who was arrested by London police in Oxford September 2022 reportedly cost GTA developers Rockstar $5m in damages.
Kurtaj was declared unfit to stand trial due to his acute autism, shifting the jury’s focus away from a verdict of guilty or not guilty, and toward determining whether the alleged hacks were actually committed.
A mental health assessment determined that Kurtaj “continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible,” describing him as “highly motivated.”
Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV and a mobile phone.
Stopped before he could do real damage, Kurtaj warned Rockstar that he would leak the game’s source code unless he was contacted on Telegram.
The proceedings also revealed that he was violent while held in custody for the trial leading to his indefinite stay in the secure hospital facility.
