Hacker given indefinite hospital detention

[Jader1973]

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67663128

Part of an international gang of hackers. Hacked Rockstar Games from a Travelodge room using a Firestick, his phone, and the TV!

Acutely autistic so can’t stand trial but a jury found he committed the crimes so he was given a lifetime hospital detention.

Sounds like a the super villain from a Bond film!

[frisbee]

He’s blatantly been recruited to a shadowy government organisation.

[sugerbear]

"Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV and a mobile phone."

impressive stuff. Wonder how they are going to rehabilitate him other than to stick in a cell with no technology.

[Bright Halo]

He’ll end up working for GCHQ.
Skills like that need to be understood.

[fourstardan]

sugerbear said:

"Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV and a mobile phone."

impressive stuff. Wonder how they are going to rehabilitate him other than to stick in a cell with no technology.

So they took his laptop and then left him with a mobile phone....well done authorities.

He is more resourceful than some of the lazy opinionated developers I work with, when can he start in my org.

[the-norseman]

Bright Halo said:

He’ll end up working for GCHQ.
Skills like that need to be understood.

Yep agreed.

[the-norseman]

fourstardan said:

So they took his laptop and then left him with a mobile phone....well done authorities.

He is more resourceful than some of the lazy opinionated developers I work with, when can he start in my org.

Reminds me of the film Hackers .

In all reality though, if the police rocked up at my house and took my laptop and phone for what ever reason, within minutes I'd be down the shop, new sim card and phone and new laptop. Or if like me, he had spare (old phones and machines) lying around, just use one of them.

[Radec]

frisbee said:

He’s blatantly been recruited to a shadowy government organisation.

Video of his arrest and interrogation.

[.:ian:.]

sugerbear said:

"Despite having his laptop confiscated, Kurtaj managed to breach Rockstar, the company behind GTA, using an Amazon Firestick, his hotel TV, a Corby trouser press, small kettle, some tea and coffee and a packet of shortbread biscuits, oh yeah and a mobile phone."

More like it.

[macron]

Bright Halo said:

He’ll end up working for GCHQ.
Skills like that need to be understoodon our side .

More to the point, how st must your security be if someone can do this?!

[OldGermanHeaps]

If rockstars internet facing servers can be comprimised with a firestic and a mobile phone and a kettle that a previous guest pissed in then the need to sack everyone on their cybersecurity team and employ this guy, and they need to be fined for every bit of customer data they failed to adequately protect.
Funny how if you upset some billionaire companies by altering ones and zeros that only exist as electrical impulses you can get put away for life but people who commit real world crimes which have vastly bigger real life impact on ordinary victims its always just a slap on the wrist.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 22 December 08:59

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Bright Halo said:

He’ll end up working for GCHQ.
Skills like that need to be understood.

That would like handing a pro shooter with severe PTSD a handgun and saying show me how to shoot those targets the way you do..

[phil4]

hotspot the firestick using the phone, use the web browser to access a terminal emulator, and from their SSH to the world, run any scripts you're squirreled away.

[Wills2]

That is incredible, I wouldn't have wanted to be the head of IT at T2 interactive having to explain that breach to the board.

Just like Abagnale all those years ago they will want his skills no doubt, although if he is totally unstable they probably can't use them.

[Timothy Bucktu]

I know your Mum wouldn't understand...but don't get too wowed over OMG he used a Firestick to 'hack' something. They run Fire OS which is a branch of the Android OS. Once you're at the terminal interface you can do what you can do on pretty much any other terminal.
He found a backdoor and exploited it (ooo, er). There are tools on the Web that any budding Mitnick can use.

[BrettMRC]

People forgetting he was part of a collective.

So many layers and concordant footholds needed there, this wasn't achieved alone in a hotel room.

All those people saying "sack the security team" haven't got the first fking clue about trying to secure a large infrastructure.

[Electro1980]

phil4 said:

hotspot the firestick using the phone, use the web browser to access a terminal emulator, and from their SSH to the world, run any scripts you're squirreled away.

This.

He had a PC and a modem. The firestick and phone bit is not as impressive as people seem to think. The current firestick is 2.0GHz quad-core with 2GB ram. That’s more powerful than a lot of laptops from 10 years ago. 20 years ago that would be serious kit.

[grumbledoak]

What does a murderer have to do to get life without parole?

Our legal system is an absolute disgrace.

[Derek Smith]

Jader1973 said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67663128

Part of an international gang of hackers. Hacked Rockstar Games from a Travelodge room using a Firestick, his phone, and the TV!

Acutely autistic so can’t stand trial but a jury found he committed the crimes so he was given a lifetime hospital detention.

Sounds like a the super villain from a Bond film!

Not a lifetime but indefinite. That means whenever the authorities think they can use his skills.

[Electro1980]

BrettMRC said:

People forgetting he was part of a collective.

So many layers and concordant footholds needed there, this wasn't achieved alone in a hotel room.

All those people saying "sack the security team" haven't got the first fking clue about trying to secure a large infrastructure.

Especially large infrastructure with lots of devs. The most dangerous thing in any organisation is the fools that do stuff to make their lives easier. With most users that is re-using passwords. IT users are a whole new level of security nightmare, as they have the knowledge and authority to do really dangerous stuff, and the arrogance to think they can’t be caught out.