GTA 6 Hacker Suspect May Have Been Arrested
The hacker behind the massive "Grand Theft Auto 6" leak from earlier this week may have finally been found. Shortly after it was revealed that Uber — a company that also fell victim to the hacks — was cooperating with the FBI to bring in the suspected leakers, it has been reported that the authorities may have already found their man.
The hack, which revealed over 90 minutes of footage from the in-development game, showed fans a look at several small details of the title well before they were meant to be seen by the public. And though there were some admittedly funny reactions from the gaming community, the theft itself was no laughing matter — and the hunt was immediately on for the person or persons responsible.
On the morning of Sept. 23, the BBC reported that a 17-year-old suspect had been brought in for questioning the night before in connection to an investigation into cyber crime. Following the inquiry, the teen was formally arrested, but the BBC was not able to go into detail concerning the exact crimes involved. It was later confirmed by the London police on Twitter that the suspect was brought in because he was suspected of hacking, but again, it was not made clear which hacking case he was connected to. However, that did not stop journalists in the comments below the City Police account's post from speculating that this arrest could be tied to the devastating Rockstar and Uber hacks.
Journalist Matthew Keys, who has been tracking the story since it broke this morning on Twitter, reported, "Arrest of 17-year-old by police in the United Kingdom over hack of Rockstar and possibly Uber was done in concert with an investigation conducted by the FBI, according to a source with knowledge of the matter."
Multiple investigations have been conducted
At this time, not much is known about the hacker for certain, nor do we know how the police managed to find them so quickly, but the leaker has been connected to a major hacking group called Lapsus$. The network of hackers has been making news over the last year for attacking big name companies such as Samsung, Nokia, and Uber. Following the attack on Uber, the company released a statement that said, "We are in close coordination with the FBI and US Department of Justice on this matter and will continue to support their efforts." It looks as though those efforts have paid off.
But the DOJ and FBI weren't the only organizations in the United States who were on the case. Staff members of the GTA Forums — where the leaked footage was originally uploaded for all to see — were also working hard to figure out the identity of the hacker. While all of the leaked info was posted by a forum user named Teapotuberhacker, it may not have just been coming from one lone actor. According to a post from the staff, they have been analyzing the data at hand and believe that the leaker may actually be two people sharing one account. The staff members warned against engaging with either of their suspects, two forum users nicknamed Lily and Teapot.
Since concluding their own investigation, the GTA forums staff explained, "We want to minimize the potential for misinformation and further abuse, and therefore we are bringing the speculation to a close for now and locking this thread." However, they allowed for the possibility of further investigation based on Teapotuberhacker's responses. Given the arrest news this morning, GTA Forums may not even have to worry about that anymore.
The hacker's description might sounds familiar
Those following the Lapsus$ case may notice that age of the hacker arrested this morning also appears to line up closely with the age range of the hacker group's suspected ringleader (as reported by the BBC). It remains to be seen if these two are one and the same, but "Grand Theft Auto" fans should expect to hear more information before the weekend is through. According to Matthew Keys, "Police expected to give more details on arrest of 17-year-old Rockstar Games hacker later today, possible statement coming from the FBI later this morning/afternoon."
If the 17-year-old suspect is indeed behind the Rockstar hacks, then where does that leave his possible accomplice pointed to by GTA Forums staff? Does such a person even exist, or was a single person behind all of Teapotuberhacker's posts? Hopefully all of these questions and more will be answered in the coming days. "Grand Theft Auto" fans want answers, but they've also learned to be patient at this point.