In a London court, prosecutors have revealed that a member of the hacking group Lapsus$, Arion Kurtaj, aged 18, successfully hacked Uber and fintech firm Revolut. This was followed by an allegation of blackmailing the developers of the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games.
The hacking incidents involving Revolut and Uber occurred in September 2022, resulting in access to 5,000 Revolut customers’ information and causing approximately $3 million of damage to Uber.
According to prosecutors, Kurtaj then turned his attention to Rockstar Games, hacking their systems and sending a threatening Slack message to all Rockstar staff. In the message, he threatened to release the source code of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto sequel.
Kurtaj and a 17-year-old accomplice, who remains unidentified, are also accused of blackmailing BT Group (Britain’s biggest broadband provider) and EE (a mobile operator) between July and November 2021. They allegedly demanded a $4 million ransom.
The prosecutors consider Kurtaj and the 17-year-old to be “key players” in Lapsus$. Additionally, they claim that the pair hacked chip maker Nvidia Corp in February 2022 and demanded payment to prevent the publication of sensitive data.
Prosecutor Kevin Barry informed the jurors at London’s Southwark Crown Court that the 17-year-old hacked into the City of London Police’s cloud storage shortly after being arrested in connection with the BT and EE attack.
Barry also disclosed that Kurtaj continued his cyber crime spree on his own, targeting Revolut first and then Uber two days later, before ultimately hacking Rockstar Games.
Due to an assessment by psychiatrists deeming Kurtaj unfit to stand trial, the jury will now determine his involvement in the alleged acts, rather than deliver a guilty or not guilty verdict.
Kurtaj is facing 12 charges, including three counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud, and six charges under the Computer Misuse Act.
The 17-year-old is standing trial on charges of two counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud, and three charges under the Computer Misuse Act, specifically related to the BT and Nvidia hacks, which he denies. However, he has already pleaded guilty to two offenses under the Computer Misuse Act and one count of fraud.
Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Nick Macfie
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
