In an unexpected turn of events, a hacker involved in the group Lapsus$ managed to leak footage from the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) using a rather simple setup. The hacker, Arion Kurtaj, accomplished this feat with just an Amazon Fire TV Stick, a smartphone, a keyboard, and a mouse.
Kurtaj, who was already on bail for allegedly hacking NVIDIA, infiltrated Rockstar Games, the creator of GTA VI. He even boldly introduced himself as an “attacker” in the company’s Slack channel. The hacking took place in a UK Travelodge hotel room where Kurtaj was staying, due to concerns about his safety after being “doxxed” by hackers who revealed his personal information and compromised his security.
Despite having no internet access in the hotel, Kurtaj ingeniously utilized the Fire TV Stick to bypass these restrictions. He managed to leak clips from the unreleased game, causing a significant breach.
After a seven-week trial, Kurtaj was found guilty of hacking Rockstar Games, as well as other entities like neobank Revolut and Uber. Another individual, a 17-year-old, was also convicted in connection to the hacking activities. Both individuals are on the autism spectrum, and psychiatrists deemed them unfit to stand trial based on their conditions.
Lapsus$, referred to as a group of “digital bandits,” consists mostly of teenagers from Brazil and the UK. Kurtaj and the unnamed 17-year-old are among seven members arrested in the UK. The group is believed to have hacked several high-profile targets, including Samsung, T-Mobile, and Microsoft, between 2021 and 2022. While the group allegedly demanded ransoms, the exact amount of money they gained from these exploits remains unclear.
