Lapsus$ hacker sent to hospital custody

A hacker associated with the infamous Lapsus$ hacking crew has been handed over to medical professionals over mental health concerns.

Arion Hertaj, an 18 year old hacker who had worked with the notorious hacking group that compromised software developers including Rockstar, Uber, and Revolut has reportedly been found to be unfit to stand trial and will instead be sent to a mental health facility.

According to court audio obtained by the BBC, the teen computer expert "continued to express the intent to return to cyber-crime as soon as possible. He is highly motivated."

Hertaj had been diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum and was declared by a judge to be unfit for a criminal trial. The ruling means that he will be entrusted to doctors until he is no longer considered to pose a criminal hacking threat.

Hertaj was one of two teenagers caught up in the Lapsus$ takedown. He, along with a 17 year old, were said to have been key players in the hacking crew and its criminal activity.

Things only went from bad to worse for Hertaj as his criminal trial approached and he opted to continue his hacker ways.

According to the BBC, Hertaj managed to hook up an Amazon Firestick to his hotel TV and link up his mobile phone via the en-suite wi-fi connection. This allowed him to gain internet access and, eventually, use the connection to access Rockstar's server's and obtain unreleased gameplay footage of Grand Theft Auto VI.

While Lapsus$ managed to pull off a number of high-profile security break-ins, the group is not exactly known for its technical prowess.

The hacking crew was said to have dealt with a considerable amount of infighting and its members garnered a reputation for being immature and operating at a relatively low level of opsec, leading to their quick apprehension.

While that portrayal may not be particularly flattering for Lapsus$, it is arguably worse for the billion-dollar corporations that fell victim to their tactics and, according to one British court, managed to get compromised by a USB stick, hotel wi-fi, and a smartphone.