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The 18-year-old hacker told the company in Slack that he was not an employee but 'an attacker'

The leaker who accessed GTA VI details from Rockstar Games allegedly did so using an Amazon Fire Stick in an England hotel, according to a BBC report.

The British publication reported that, according to court documents filed in the UK, 18-year-old Arion Kurtaj was “caught red handed” when the City of London Police searched his Travelodge hotel—where he was being held on bail after his March 2022 arrest for hacking chip manufacturer Nvidia—in the south-central England town of Bicester. There, law enforcement found the digital media player connected to the hotel room’s TV, which allowed Kurtaj to infiltrate cloud computing services with a keyboard, mouse, and smartphone.

This setup let him best the likes of global neobank Revolut, rideshare service Uber, tech giant Microsoft, and game publisher Rockstar Games. Kurtaj’s hack against Rockstar Games was described as his “most audacious”—not only because of his flagrant behavior during the hack, but because he executed it while on bail for other hacking-related crimes. Kurtaj even posted in the company’s Slack, telling staff he’s not an employee but “an attacker.”

Kurtaj claimed to have downloaded all of GTA VI’s data, stating that he’d release the source code unless Rockstar Games contacted him on the messaging app Telegram. It’s unclear if the publisher ever reached out to Kurtaj, but copious details about the game, from its female co-star to its Miami: Vice City setting, did leak online last year—though we don’t know for sure if Kurtaj was behind it all. The leak was so bad that Rockstar Games, after years of silence about the next installment in the GTA series, finally confirmed the game’s existence on X (formerly Twitter) in February 2022.

As a key member of the “digital bandits” known as the Lapsus$ group, Kurtaj didn’t work alone. As reported by the BBC, an unnamed 17-year-old was also booked for his involvement with the hacks. While other members of the cyber-crime gang, allegedly operating out of both Brazil and the UK, are thought to still be at large, the two teenagers have been arrested for their alleged crimes.

Kurtaj is still in custody, while the unnamed teenager is out on bail. Both culprits will be sentenced at a later date, according to the BBC.

GTA 6 Leaker Hacked Rockstar With Just An Amazon Fire Stick In A Hotel Room

The 18-year-old hacker told the company in Slack that he was not an employee but 'an attacker'

kotaku.com

 

[Skifi28]

Now that's great advertising.

 

[GamesDontSuck]

how in the blue hell can an amazon fire stick be used to hack?

 

[X-Wing]

how in the blue hell can an amazon fire stick be used to hack?

it can run linux

 

[winjer]

Rockstar servers:

 

[Banjo64]

Keeping someone in custody for hacking a giant corporation whilst sex attackers and pedos are often let out on bail Kids not a danger to anyone.

 

[Audiophile]

While I'm not condoning it, you gotta respect the skills a little. Kinda like the wheelchair-bound guy with no arms who robbed a jewellery store using his feet and a pistol all while exercising excellent trigger discipline.

It's bad, but you can't help but be impressed.

 

[Unknown?]

This is why you don't put sensitive material even on trusted sites. If the FBI can be hacked, why does anyone think their info is safe out there on the web?

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Wasn't this kid the 'fall guy' as they call it?

 

[GymWolf]

2 billions dollar project
2 dollars anti-hacking system

Nice.

 

[BoxFresh123]

Lies. Hollywood already showed us what hacking really looks like

 

[tusharngf]

this is the guy ! absolute madlad

Spoiler: https://cdn.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/25145045/Arion.jpeg

 

[Flutta]

Based kid.

 

[Hugare]

this is the guy ! absolute madlad

Spoiler: https://cdn.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/25145045/Arion.jpeg

And he still has time to fish

While I'm not condoning it, you gotta respect the skills a little. Kinda like the wheelchair-bound guy with no arms who robbed a jewellery store using his feet and a pistol all while exercising excellent trigger discipline.

It's bad, but you can't help but be impressed.

Same sentiment here

People saying that Rockstar has potato servers, read the new. This kid also hacked many other big tech companies.

 

[Elder Legend]

Rockstar servers:

I think those are closer to the Microsoft servers due to what's happening today...

 

[OmegaSupreme]

He's like a nerdy macgyver