The story of a hacker whose actions shocked the world.
In September 2022, the London police decided to protect 17-year-old Arion Kurtay by placing him in the suburban hotel Travelodge. Kurtai was transferred to this hotel after he was repeatedly threatened by the online hacker community and faced attacks on his family's home. Despite the fact that the teenager was arrested twice in early 2022 for hacker attacks, he was allowed to return home on the condition of completely refusing to use the Internet. However, throughout his stay at the hotel, Courtay was unable to stay out of cyberspace, which eventually led to his third arrest.
The story of Arion Kurtai began even before these events. He was born in 2005 and grew up in the middle class at the north end of Oxford. From early childhood, he had difficulties in learning and developing social skills, which led him to attend schools for children with special educational needs. Already at the age of 11, he began to show interest in cybercrime, posting a request on a forum about how to hack a Minecraft server. This first step led him into the world of cybercriminals and hackers.
As a teenager, Kurtay faced serious difficulties in his family and was taken into care by the state services, which led to him ending up in a boarding school for children with emotional and behavioral problems. However, the real world did not satisfy his desire for recognition and success, and he began to seek fulfillment in the world of cybercrime. In 2021, when he was only 16 years old, he participated in the hacking of Electronic Arts, stealing 780 gigabytes of data. This incident was one of many related to the hacker group Lapsus$, of which Kurtay became a member.
Lapsus$ is a hacker group that has become one of the most active and dangerous in the world in recent years. It hacked into the systems of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Samsung, Nvidia, Uber and others. The group's hackers specialized in data theft and extortion, demanding ransoms for non-disclosure of stolen information. However, unlike traditional cybercriminals, the motives of Lapsus$ participants were often not only financial. They took pleasure in chaos and disorder, which made them especially dangerous. Kurtay became a key figure in this group, participating in attacks on large corporations and government agencies.
One of the most famous incidents in which Kurtay was involved was the hacking of Uber and Rockstar Games in September 2022. While at the Travelodge Hotel, he used internet-enabled devices to carry out these attacks, despite the ban on the use of technology. At Uber, he posted an obscene image on the company's internal platform, which caused a wave of indignation among employees. At Rockstar Games, Courtay hacked into the servers and stole the video and source code of the game "Grand Theft Auto VI", which became one of the most high-profile leaks in the gaming industry in recent years. Videos with game fragments quickly spread across the network, causing a huge resonance among fans of the game and industry experts.
Police have long tried to stop Kurtai and other Lapsus$ members, but many of the participants' teenage years and unusual motives have complicated the investigation. In January 2022, Kurtai and his partner, known by the pseudonym ASyntax, were arrested for hacking into British Telecom, but they were soon released on their own recognizance. In March of the same year, Kurtai was arrested again after the Nvidia hack, but due to the lack of suitable conditions for the detention of teenagers, he was released again, which gave him the opportunity to continue hacking attacks.
Psychiatrists who examined Kurtay said that due to his severe autism and other developmental disabilities, he was unable to appear in court and realize the full extent of his responsibility. In August 2023, after a seven-week trial, a jury found him guilty of committing hacking attacks, but due to his health condition, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital under indefinite supervision. Doctors and government agencies will decide on his fate and when he can return to normal life. However, according to the experts, Kurtay still feels a desire to return to the world of cybercrime.
Despite this, Kurtai's lawyers and autism experts argue that a life sentence for a teenager with such developmental disabilities is not a fair decision. In their opinion, it is necessary to look for alternative approaches that will help use the unique skills of such people in a more positive way, while protecting society from their potential threat.
Kurtai's story raises important questions about how modern society should respond to cybercrimes committed by young people who face social adjustment challenges in the real world. Many experts believe that special rehabilitation programmes should be developed for such people to make better use of their skills, rather than locking them up in prisons.
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In September 2022, the London police decided to protect 17-year-old Arion Kurtay by placing him in the suburban hotel Travelodge. Kurtai was transferred to this hotel after he was repeatedly threatened by the online hacker community and faced attacks on his family's home. Despite the fact that the teenager was arrested twice in early 2022 for hacker attacks, he was allowed to return home on the condition of completely refusing to use the Internet. However, throughout his stay at the hotel, Courtay was unable to stay out of cyberspace, which eventually led to his third arrest.
The story of Arion Kurtai began even before these events. He was born in 2005 and grew up in the middle class at the north end of Oxford. From early childhood, he had difficulties in learning and developing social skills, which led him to attend schools for children with special educational needs. Already at the age of 11, he began to show interest in cybercrime, posting a request on a forum about how to hack a Minecraft server. This first step led him into the world of cybercriminals and hackers.
As a teenager, Kurtay faced serious difficulties in his family and was taken into care by the state services, which led to him ending up in a boarding school for children with emotional and behavioral problems. However, the real world did not satisfy his desire for recognition and success, and he began to seek fulfillment in the world of cybercrime. In 2021, when he was only 16 years old, he participated in the hacking of Electronic Arts, stealing 780 gigabytes of data. This incident was one of many related to the hacker group Lapsus$, of which Kurtay became a member.
Lapsus$ is a hacker group that has become one of the most active and dangerous in the world in recent years. It hacked into the systems of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Samsung, Nvidia, Uber and others. The group's hackers specialized in data theft and extortion, demanding ransoms for non-disclosure of stolen information. However, unlike traditional cybercriminals, the motives of Lapsus$ participants were often not only financial. They took pleasure in chaos and disorder, which made them especially dangerous. Kurtay became a key figure in this group, participating in attacks on large corporations and government agencies.
One of the most famous incidents in which Kurtay was involved was the hacking of Uber and Rockstar Games in September 2022. While at the Travelodge Hotel, he used internet-enabled devices to carry out these attacks, despite the ban on the use of technology. At Uber, he posted an obscene image on the company's internal platform, which caused a wave of indignation among employees. At Rockstar Games, Courtay hacked into the servers and stole the video and source code of the game "Grand Theft Auto VI", which became one of the most high-profile leaks in the gaming industry in recent years. Videos with game fragments quickly spread across the network, causing a huge resonance among fans of the game and industry experts.
Police have long tried to stop Kurtai and other Lapsus$ members, but many of the participants' teenage years and unusual motives have complicated the investigation. In January 2022, Kurtai and his partner, known by the pseudonym ASyntax, were arrested for hacking into British Telecom, but they were soon released on their own recognizance. In March of the same year, Kurtai was arrested again after the Nvidia hack, but due to the lack of suitable conditions for the detention of teenagers, he was released again, which gave him the opportunity to continue hacking attacks.
Psychiatrists who examined Kurtay said that due to his severe autism and other developmental disabilities, he was unable to appear in court and realize the full extent of his responsibility. In August 2023, after a seven-week trial, a jury found him guilty of committing hacking attacks, but due to his health condition, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital under indefinite supervision. Doctors and government agencies will decide on his fate and when he can return to normal life. However, according to the experts, Kurtay still feels a desire to return to the world of cybercrime.
Despite this, Kurtai's lawyers and autism experts argue that a life sentence for a teenager with such developmental disabilities is not a fair decision. In their opinion, it is necessary to look for alternative approaches that will help use the unique skills of such people in a more positive way, while protecting society from their potential threat.
Kurtai's story raises important questions about how modern society should respond to cybercrimes committed by young people who face social adjustment challenges in the real world. Many experts believe that special rehabilitation programmes should be developed for such people to make better use of their skills, rather than locking them up in prisons.
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