GTA 6 Hacker Ruled a High Risk to the Public, Sentenced to Life in Hospital

Leaking GTA 6 was really on the same level as killing someone I see😂😭

They say life but he'll be out in fifteen years. Just in time for the GTA VI remaster

Wow, that's appalling.
Let's take the autistic kid and make an example out of him, absurd.

Judge clearly in the pocket of big business. Abhorrent decision!

I'm fairly sure this wasn't his first rodeo. If he was in police protection he's already done something or involved in something. Crimes come in many ways and it doesn't have to involve damaging people. He looks like he was capable of doing a lot of damage with minimal kit. I'm not disagreeing with everyone but c'mon to think the judge was bought. 😂

WTf?! So repeated sexual or violent offenders get a few years (if even) but a hacker gets life in hospital. Clearly money is more important than lives for the judge.

Also, why in hospital? Is he sick?

Edit : after reading the BBC article, PushSquare's headline and article is pure clickbait. I won't delete my comment and I'll take the hit, but damn, these last months, I've seen a few articles like that here that misrepresented the facts, I hope it won't become the norm...

Surely he can be put to better uses with that skill level? Seems a waste of British talent.

Different subject but I expect the Insomniac hackers to be punished but not for the reason you may think.

It’s due to them tampering with potential huge profits, specifically, they’ve interfered with Disney money. I’ve heard through the years, you don’t mess with The Mouse.

If it's Warrington Hospital then I really feel sorry for the little perp.

@homelesscretin the law wasn't setup to judge killing someone and monetary crimes the same. As disgusting as it is if you commit a crime that causes financial damage you are far more likely to do serious time in jail than if you murder someone.

People aren't reading the article, it says indefinitely, so he's probably gonna be out of there if he's cured of his hacking addiction. He's hacking whilst in police custody, clearly he has a problem and definitely gonna do it again if he's not kept on a leash.

@Olmaz Yes he is, as the BBC article states. He's also violent and aggressive, hence the indefinite hospital order.

@TheArt They quote in the headline says he's banged up for life, not indefinitely, so they put that thought into people's minds. It's poor journalism. PS should change it as it misrepresents the facts

Clickbait titles... Technically he could be there for life, but in general, as soon he will be fit to be back in society, then they will release him.
If he would say in court that he is sorry and he would not do it again, if he wouldnt be aggressive, probably emontionally unstable, then he probably would not be sentenced at all. This young men is just wired differently and he found hobby he enjoys

He's gonna hack the judge via heart monitor 😅

Poor Rockstar, lost $5 million. What's that, a day of GTAV revenue? A few hours? Hard to feel sorry for these big corporations. Not that hacking is OK, but the sentence must fit the crime.

People clearly didn't read the article. He is a repeat offender. That's why the punishment is so harsh.

I dont understand..why in hospital?
Regardless if he managed to infiltrate those servers with basic equipment at hand, he'll be taken out the hospital/prison and given a job !!

It shouldn't matter how old he is or if he has something wrong with him. He's done it several times now and he clearly hasn't learned. It doesn't matter if it's to big corporations or not, the punishment should be harsh. It's still a crime, and a crime he clearly doesn't want to stop doing.

It's mildly amusing that people think this is ridiculous. Maybe you'd feel differently if some of that information he hacked would include your personal information or if you worked for any of the companies that got hacked.

Read the source from BBC. He has done way more than just hack Rockstar.

Different views in here compared to the Insomniac hacking article. Sony fanbois.
Trololol.

The bit that doesn’t seem to be covered here is that he shows no remorse for his actions or any willingness to stop.
It’s not so much about punishment but protecting everyone from someone mentally incapable of realising they are doing something wrong. We can hope that the hospital is able to find some kind of treatment that may help him overcome this and return to society.

He should be locked away. He's hacked multiple times, and expressed desire to continue committing cyber crimes, so it's not a one-off mistake. Plus the BBC article mentions he was violent whilst in custody.

Locking him away indefinitely in a hospital until he's no longer deemed a risk (and not for life as this article's headline wrongly says) seems like the only reasonable call here.

Way more to this than PS has reported.

@MrHabushi Yeah I read through the article and he's not only autistic, but has severe autism, which can warrant hospitalization.

Add to this the violent behavior and the stalking and harassment, and the judge's decision is a lot more understandable.

For once, PushSquare's headline was pure clickbait, and I fell for it, sorry.

I personally find that sentencing too much. I can’t help think like a parent. I have an 18 year old and I automatically think of him. Though at 18 you’re considered an adult by society, I think that should be changed. Your brain isn’t fully developed till the age 25. They clearly are making an example out of this kid. Yes he’s done things wrong and should face some sort of consequence, but these are beyond the penalty he deserves.

I don't think the court took this decision lightly. As the bbc article states there's a high risk of repetition. Now it's rockstar, next could be your bank or some infrastructure with enormous consequences for the public.

@KilloWertz I'd think, if he were on the autism spectrum, then having an awareness of empathy and emotions would be something that they struggle to identify or understand, so yeah, I think it's fair that those things should be considered with sentencing? Someone who willingly kills in cold blood should probably receive a harsher sentence than someone who acccidentally kills through ignorance? Point being- if he isn't really aware of what he's done, how can he be held accountable?

And hacking big companies is clearly going to be prosecuted more than person to person crime, because they have better lawyers- but should that really be the case? I think it's fair to raise these sorts of questions.

I hope he gets the help he needs

@clvr as someone with autism I’m happy to see this, honestly. I’m sick and tired of people trying to using autism as a defense for criminal behavior. To reiterate the same thing I’ve said elsewhere, autism would if anything make it less likely to commit crimes.

It’s not even a factor, he’s high functioning enough to pull this kind of garbage. He’s obviously way way above the ‘Lenny line’ and knows damn well his actions are not acceptable.

Kinda crazy that he's ruled for life for something like this. I know he's really good at hacking but still.

This quote is pretty incredible I must say, obviously a huge talent.
'infiltrated Rockstar Games while under police protection, using just an Amazon Firestick, a mobile phone, and a Travelodge hotel’s television.'

Which means I have trouble believing this,
'Despite being diagnosed with autism, a judge found that his extremely high aptitude for hacking and willingness to repeat offend meant he must remain in hospital indefinitely.'

It's most likely a press cover story as I would expect our good people at MI6 to give him a job.

Sammy the community notes on Twitter said "life in hospital" was inaccurate since he's actually there for an indefinite time pending yearly review that could let him out . Anyway I'm not sure your title is accurate

“ British teenager Arion Kurtaj infiltrated Rockstar Games while under police protection, using just an Amazon Firestick, a mobile phone, and a Travelodge hotel’s television”

This dude was the MacGyver of hacking!

@J2theEzzo Autism is not an excuse for doing criminal acts, especially when you're in police custody. If this was his first time, I understand being lenient, but he's done this countless times and at this point shows clear evidence of having no interest in stopping.

I say what he is getting is perfectly reasonable and deserved. There's a limit to how much the sympathy card can be used. It's clear he needs help, and whatever was going on prior to him being sentenced clearly wasn't working, so maybe he can finally get it and finally stop. Or at least getting a job someday to put his obvious skills to good use.

That's ridiculous. He'll appeal that immediately. That judge is insane.

This isn’t the story. Life in hospital isn’t accurate, it’s an indefinite order because it’s hospital, he’ll be released when they deem him stable and not a risk.

I’ve never understood why my fellow English speakers say ‘in hospital’ instead of ‘in THE hospital’.. it’s improper grammar and it drives me crazy!!

That dude should not be in THE hospital indefinitely.. he’s not a violent offender.. if anything keep him out but make sure there’s no mobile phones or internet where he’s at.. this is taking it way too far

@riceNpea We're talking millions of dollars, not chump change. All you people acting shocked fail to realize they're talking about more money than the whole comment section will make in their lifetimes. Kid clearly showed he wasn't going to stop and didn't care about the damage he was doing. Not sure how many of you have experience with autism but I have more than I'd like and I can vouch for the fact autistic people have a tendency to be the definition of selfishness and entitlement. Just because someone has a mental issue doesn't mean it's the ok and the rest of us should just suffer and deal with it. Kid earned what he's got. Considering he's gonna be in a hospital, he got off light. And he won't be there for life. He'll be there for a decade at most and then released under some sort of probation. Those whining about the punishment he faces for his own damn actions are too soft and people like that are probably part of the reason he's been able to push his luck so far because he's never been truly held accountable until now.

@Gabrielmpf It does. It was millions of dollars, more than all the commenters combined will see in their lifetimes. Just because its a large company capable of losing millions and recovering doesn't mean it's cool to just steal millions of dollars from them. Adjust how you view things, your perspective has blind spots

“… Amazon Firestick, a mobile phone, and a Travelodge hotel’s television.”

In the States we call that MacGyver.

@Vega37 someone's life > millions of dollars.

I'm my opinion murder/manslaughter sentences should never be less than the worst sentence given for the worst financial crime.

@WolfyTn
Both can be correct. It’s still proper grammar. Just think of college or university. You’d say “my nephew is in college.”

Based on the information of his violent and obsessive behaviour it is clear as day why he got a hospital order to be treated.

Those who say this isn't deserved are missing the facts - forget about just the crimes (which did include harming people with personal data leaks and blackmail) this person is deemed a danger to others.

Those trying to defend the actions of this person or celebrate the crimes need to seek professional help.

@KilloWertz I'm not suggesting it's an excuse, but I've worked with vulnerable people on the spectrum, and a lot of the time, those individuals just didn't necessarily get why something they think is fine could be seen as potentially dangerous or harmful, either to themselves or others. I think education has a huge role to play in that, and I think it's easier to put blame on a person, than a system that (repeatedly) fails them. He's clearly very intelligent, and has skills that could be professionally put to use for benefit, and I just don't believe that punishment works as well as proactively working with people to re-educate or endorse positive use of their skills.

@Slippship smart enough to do this. Knew it was wrong. Still did it. There is more to this than we know. So I think the term life is a bit harsh. But i along with rest don’t know everything. The person is a threat to other securities besides rockstar. If I knew every detail I’d most likely agree with sentence. All I’m saying is person got what he got and there’s more to it than we know v

He's also been stalking woman and is alleged to have said he'll be physically violent

@Ninerguy1608 autism is a funny old condition. Right from wrong is perspective and some don't have it.

@MrHabushi

And if he's extremely skilled in hacking and can't stop himself from doing it, there's no reason why he can't hack into the electric grid or a municipal water supply or some other vital infrastructure.

People who think this type of punishment is over a few million dollars are naive and probably still children themselves.

Considering the fact that he can access consumer and employee information and he is unwilling to stop being a criminal I say the punishment is apt. I think he deserves jail (especially for the violent crimes) but at least he can’t disrupt the lives of anyone else. Hacking has a real cost and impact. It isn’t some minor thing. People’s lives and livelihoods are impacted when someone thinks they are having fun in the matrix.

Really tired of seeing news websites clickbaiting this story and claiming that this kid got "life in a hospital" when it's actually just an indefinite order, meaning that he's going to stay in the hospital until he's deemed mentally stable.

Would have hoped that Push Square would have been above this, but unfortunately I'm proven wrong.

But hey, the kid has a fishing career ahead of him.

^{(I got the image from the BBC article btw)}

@homelesscretin does not matter, if you dont realise that the action you about to commit is a crime is only your fault and yours only, dont do anything that is illegal. Sometimes accidents happen but im 100% sure if you commit a crime by accident you dont get a life sentence. Life is unfair sometimes and innocent people get massive sentences but DO NOT DO ANYTHING THAT IS ILLEGAL and it helps a lot in this life!

@WolfyTn He is a violent offender:
"The court heard that Kurtaj had been violent while in custody with dozens of reports of injury or property damage."

He also kept offending even when on bail and has expressed intent to commit further offences. For his and the public's protection an indefinite order in hospital is evidently necessary, and to ensure he gets the medical care needed.

Seems like a ridiculous sentence to me.

@NinjaNicky
You nailed it! Don't do the crime if you don't want the time.

@Splat repeat rape offenders don’t get such a harsh sentence what’s your point?

Posters before you are spot on

@riceNpea 100% so many people are brain washed to believe ridiculous things.

@J2theEzzo I get what you're saying, but at least for now I think the very harsh punishment is fair. You say he needs help and he can get it there. I do believe that eventually having him work for their government or something of the sort is a good solution at some point once he's deemed ready.

@showface Woah, dude. What if you live in an authoritarian state, that decrees that your personal freedoms should be revoked and that you must always obey arbitrary commands, under threat of death or imprisonment? Sometimes we need to be critical of laws and who makes them. Mindless obeying can cause more harm than good- just look at WW2.

first of all, the article does not make note of the hacker being on the spectrum which gives a little more context to his behaviour. knowing that he is autistic is an important thing to note here.

i don't condone what this person did, but ultimately we are talking about a leak of a video game here, not a secret list of ingredients that will destroy the world. a game, mind you, that will succeed one way or another, whichever way you want to slice it and under literally any cirmstance. the leak did no damage whateosever to the porduct at the end of the day. rest assured, precious rockstar games and take2 will make their billions of dollars in revenue and all will be okay in the world.

@Olmaz He did quite a lot of this youngyea did a small video about it. He did a lot more of this and even his detainment he was doing criminal things and he made it clear he was not going to stop.

So the way i see he should be detained and mentally examined for that. These crimes are getting worse and worse they even target hospitals now with no remorse for the consequences of others.

@riceNpea Killing someone is one of the most terrible things you can do. But there are tons of crimes to destroy a person his life.

What if you steal someones lifesavings or retirement money you can also ruin a life with these actions Yongyea did a nice video on this he and he needs to be examined mentally.

Given that he was unrepentant and, when questioned, professed an eagerness to return to regularly hacking, in combination with his violent and aggressive tendencies, what else were they going to do with him? It's hospital, not prison. He'll get help and, potently, get discharged as a result.

Being autistic doesn't mean they can just keep letting him off with a patronising pat on the head. Intervention, in this case, was clearly essential.

This article is incomplete, however, so I can see why people are jumping to the conclusions here.

@J2theEzzo To be fair, "indefinite hospital admission" is more treatment than punishment, but still a form of incarceration.

He f’d around and now he’s finding out

trigger warning (assault, imprisonment)

@J2theEzzo got to love the ”what if’s”

@J2theEzzo hmm damn i and all of you need to be critical against this law that says people can’t infiltrate into companies etc, the law makers are out of their mind! If they infitrate into your bank account ofcourse then it would be totally different story right? Then it’s illegal?

@Gremio108 I wonder if he’s able to enable the browser on PlayStation Portal, to play via Travel lodge WIFI 😜

@J2theEzzo did someone force him to do this crime? or a pastime hobbie like you see this.

@J2theEzzo what was all the talk about him recommiting the same crime? Oh sorry recommiting the hobbie i mean.

All the sympathy here is misplaced.

He tried to extort Rockstar and ruined the work of hundreds of people. He was already on bail for hacking offences. In police custody at the time he hacked Rockstar.

In custody he'd been violent and abusive towards people looking after him. Shown zero remorse and has viewed his incarceration as a temporary setback to more hacking, extortion and so on

So he's in a mental health hospital instead of prison and some of you are acting like they put rainman on death row. His 4chan buddies are laughing at the courts right now

@Porco Actually, no. This isn't what we're talking about at all. You may want to read the full story. If it were just a leaked video, I'd agree with you.

@Octorok_Prime you can't really trust that he will do what he's asked to. On the contrary, he could hurt mi6 from the inside. He's also violent. He's not the kind of person you can work with. Not at his current state anyway, hence the sentence. Hope he gets better, though I seriously doubt it.

@Flaming_Kaiser being dead is and always will be worse than that.

Merry Christmas 😊

@showface There was only one "if", and I was referring to very real authoritarian states, places like N Korea, for example, where personal freedoms are regularly curbed. I'm not addressing what one individual did, but rather, questioning whether it's necessarily right to think that all laws are made with your best interest at heart, which I'd argue is not necessarily always the case.

To be honest, I have no idea what's going on with this person, or what their story is, but I don't personally believe that "you did bad, so go to jail" is always the best solution to every legal problem- situations are nuanced, because people are too.

But if you love and trust the police and authority so much, then good for you. 😉

@J2theEzzo here in Finland i can trust police and authority. People dont carry firearms here and police dont kill here, 2020-2022 police had to use firearm (shoot it) 64 times, 64 times in 3 years. Yes i trust finnish police and authority.

@Octorok_Prime locked away until he gets better, if I understood it correctly. So, technically it could be soon.

But I think we can all agree that the punishment for murder and rape is way too lenient.

Unsurprisingly the comments section is filled to the brim with people with no understanding of Autism.

High performing autistics can change the world and struggle to tie their shoelaces. Have a godly understanding of a particular subject but struggle to look you in the eye. Can break in to Rockstars servers and then have a meltdown as you suppress their only natural talent.

He needs a legal avenue to channel his talents. Or we can just toss him into Hospital as he's an inconvenience.

Yep Lock him up and throw away the key

Now must go after those who jaywalk and spit on the sidewalk.

@Gabrielmpf That's quite a bad precedent. Let's say you steal a few thousands from the government; should you not face repercussions because a few thousands is nothing compared to a country's reserves?

@Octane I did say the punishment must fit the crime. But it doesn't change the fact that I don't feel sorry for Rockstar.

@Gabrielmpf Nobody said you have to feel sorry; that's not what this article is about. You don't have to condone hacking, and favour these giant coorporations, they're not mutually exclusive.

@riceNpea Ok let someone drain you and your family's bank accounts and see how you feel when you can't even feed yourself. Money = freedom and power in this society, best to approach it as such. Someone tries to take my freedom they'll wish they only got an indefinite hospital stay.

@get2sammyb Why was my comment removed as inappropriate?! Seriously? Someone says I and my family should lose our money and suffer hardship and I'm the one who gets deleted for pointing out how disgusting that is.