A British teenage hacker has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital stay to be treated for his inability to control himself online.
A jury concluded that Kurtaj, whom psychiatrists deemed unfit to stand trial, had carried out numerous computer misuse, fraud and blackmail offences.
He also threatened Rockstar that he would leak the hacked source code for its latest Grand Theft Auto releases onto internet forums.
Kurtaj received the hospital order at Guildford Crown Court near London on Thursday, City of London police said in a statement.
British media reported that Kurtaj, who has autism, will remain at a secure hospital for life unless doctors deem him no longer a danger.
Kurtaj and a 17-year-old youth, whose name cannot be published because of his age, were also accused of hacking software company Nvidia in February 2022 and threatening to release its intellectual property.
Prosecutors said the pair hacked the servers of broadband provider BT and mobile operator EE before demanding a $4 million ransom.
The 17-year-old was sentenced to a youth rehabilitation order for fraud and blackmail on Thursday.
In a statement, City of London police urged parents to make sure they know what their children are up to online.
Grand Theft Auto 5, the last iteration of the game that revolves around heists and street violence, was released in 2013 and has since sold 190 million copies and generated some $8.5 billion in revenue.
Earlier this month, Rockstar released a trailer for the sixth installment of the game, expected to be released in 2025.
This Cyber News was published on www.securityweek.com. Publication date: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 14:43:17 +0000