Incident Details
An 18-year-old hacker who leaked clips of a forthcoming Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. Arion Kurtaj from Oxford, who has autism, was a key member of international gang Lapsus$. The gang's attacks on tech giants including Uber, Nvidia, and Rockstar Games cost the firms nearly $10m. The judge said Kurtaj's skills and desire to commit cybercrime meant he remained a high risk to the public. He will remain at a secure hospital for life unless doctors deem him no longer a danger.
Incident
How Did the Breach Happen?
Arion Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV, and a mobile phone. He broke into the company's internal Slack messaging system to declare that if Rockstar does not contact him, he will start releasing the source code.
What Data has been Compromised?
Arion Kurtaj stole 90 clips of the unreleased and hugely anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6.
Why Did the company's Security Measures Fail?
The company's security measures failed because Arion Kurtaj was able to breach their internal messaging system and gain unauthorized access to confidential information.
What Immediate Impact Did the Breach Have on the company?
The breach caused significant financial loss to the company, costing them $5 million to recover from, plus thousands of hours of staff time.
How could this have been prevented?
This breach could have been prevented by implementing stronger security measures, such as multi-factor authentication and regular security assessments to identify and patch vulnerabilities.
What have we learned from this data breach?
This data breach highlights the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and the need for constant vigilance to protect sensitive information.
Summary of Coverage
Arion Kurtaj, a member of the Lapsus$ hacking gang, leaked clips of the unreleased game Grand Theft Auto 6 and caused significant financial loss to the company. He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order due to his skills and desire to commit cybercrime. The breach could have been prevented with stronger security measures.