The teenager behind the GTA 6 leaks
The GTA 6 leaks are all part of some sick, twisted joke, as the person responsible for sharing almost a full hour of footage from the upcoming game was apparently caught Hacking into Rockstar itself while on bail for a previous hacking scandal. That’s right – the person behind the GTA 6 leaks is a hacker.
Last year, a mysterious user named ‘teapotuberhacker’ shared over 90 screenshots and videos of a GTA 6 test build, detailing several different areas and gameplay features. It later came to light that this user was part of a hacking group called Lapsus$, which has been responsible for hacking major corporations such as Microsoft and Nvidia.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, one of the group’s members, Arion Kurtaj, was arrested for hacking into Rockstar, the parent company of GTA 5 developer Rockstar North. Kurtaj, 18, was on bail for previous hacking incidents involving major companies such as Microsoft and Nvidia, but violated these terms by hacking into Rockstar in a hotel room.
Kurtaj is believed to be part of the group Lapsus$, who last year leaked GTA 6 footage and screenshots showing off a male and female protagonist in what looks to be an early version of the game. The other members of Lapsus$ are still at large and unconnected to Kurtaj, but the teenager and a 17-year-old accomplice, who is also a member of the group, were recently arrested.
According to a separate report by the BBC, Kurtaj and his co-conspirator are accused of blackmailing Rockstar staff and other companies, leaving offensive messages on Slack and Microsoft Teams while demanding their demands were met.
Lapsus$ has been involved in a number of hacking incidents, seemingly with unclear motives ranging from notoriety to money or just having fun with each scandal. If you’ve ever wondered why some people do these things, in this case, for fun, then you’re probably right – it’s not really worth trying to understand.
If you’re wondering why Kurtaj was on bail to begin with, it’s because he and a 17-year-old accomplice were previously arrested for hacking offenses and using stolen SIM details to steal nearly £100,000 (about $120,000).
The pair are due to be sentenced at a later date by Her Honour Judge Lees, but GTA Forums has posted a report indicating that Kurtaj was caught as a result of an investigation by the North West Regional Cyber Crime Unit.
If that wasn’t enough, the gang has also been responsible for other hacking incidents, allegedly leaking sensitive information and internal documents from Uber, as well as leaking sensitive internal Rockstar documents relating to Red Dead Redemption 2.
Last year’s GTA 6 leaks were shared by a GTA Forums user named ‘teapotuberhacker,’ who claimed responsibility for the recent Uber hack. This same user is believed to be one of the Lapsus$ members, and the group’s connection to the Uber leak indicates that the recent GTA 6 leaks might be their doing as well.
In the meantime, we have a rundown of everything we know about GTA 6 so far, from the two protagonists in a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style relationship, to the potential GTA 6 vehicles and location we might see in the sandbox game.
