The court recognizes that the main members of the international hacker group ``LAPSUS $'' that hacked into large companies such as Microsoft, Uber, NVIDIA, Rockstar Games are teenage boys

A major member of the international hacker group ' LAPSUS$ ', which has been noted for hacking into large companies such as Microsoft, Uber, and Nvidia and leaking the data of Rockstar Games' popular title 'Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA6)'. , a London court has found that there was a boy who was only 18 years old.

Teen Lapsus$ member was behind the leaked GTA 6 footage, London jury finds - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/23/23842746/lapsus-member-uber-rockstar-games-hack

Lapsus$ teen hackers convicted of high-profile cyberattacks
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lapsus-teen-hackers-convicted-of-high-profile-cyberattacks/

Court Finds That Teenage Hackers Were Central to Data Breaches of Uber, Nvidia, and Rockstar Games
https://gizmodo.com/hackers-lapsus-uber-nvidia-rockstar-games-microsoft-1850766324

LAPSUS$ is an international hacker group that has successfully hacked large companies one after another since early 2022, and it is believed that the main members were teenagers living in the UK and Brazil. Companies hacked by LAPSUS$ includeNVIDIA , Samsung , Uber , and T-Mobile , and the fact that a teenager successfully hacked a large international company shocked the world. I was.

In March 2022, the City of London Police arrested seven young people between the ages of 16 and 21 for their involvement in the LAPSUS$ hack.

Seven young people, including a 16-year-old teenager, are arrested as related to the hacker group 'LAPS$' that attacked Microsoft and Samsung-GIGAZINE

Among the members arrested by the London City Police, there was a person named Arion Kurtaj, who is from Oxford, England and is considered to be one of the leaders. Kurtaj, who works under the handle name 'teapotuberhacker,' was released on bail on the condition that he was prohibited from using the Internet, but he brought an Amazon Fire Stick to the hotel where he stayed while on bail and used a newly purchased smartphone and keyboard to perform cloud computing. You have accessed the service.

And while on bail, he hacked into Rockstar Games and leaked the data of GTA 6 under development. In response to this, Kurtaj, who was 17 years old at the time, has been arrested again.

A 17-year-old hacker who leaked the data of 'Grand Theft Auto VI' is arrested - GIGAZINE

According to the BBC , Kurtaj, who was 18 at the time of writing the article, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by a psychiatrist and was diagnosed as not suitable for appearing in court, so he did not appear in court. The jury was asked to focus only on whether Kurtaj committed the act alleged by the prosecution, without considering whether he committed the crime intentionally.

And the Southwark Crown Court in London found Kurtaj guilty of 12 counts, including extortion, fraud and computer misuse. A 17-year-old member of LAPSUS$ who shares an autism spectrum disorder with Kurtaj has also been convicted but has not been named because he is underage.

One of the features of LAPSUS$ is that it specializes in social engineering that uses 'SIM swapping ' to hijack the target's SIM card, intercept the target's SMS and voice calls, and break through two-factor authentication. It is reported that LAPSUS$ paid telecommunications carrier employees up to $ 20,000 (about 2.4 million yen) per week to participate in SIM swapping.

“Above all, the LAPSUS$ incident seems to highlight just how easy it is for cybercriminals to circumvent most corporate security measures,” tech outlet Gizmodo said. He pointed out that the successful hacking of large companies by Ager and others led to a reconsideration of cybersecurity. In fact, in August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Security Review Committee analyzed the activities of LAPSUS$ and released a report summarizing the defensive measures that organizations should implement.