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A hacking gang stole victims’ savings and tried to blackmail major companies including the maker of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto videogames, prosecutors claim. Arion Kurtaj, 18, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons are accused of being “key players” in the LapsusS hacking group, a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London has heard. The duo, aided by unknown associates, are alleged to have hacked the servers and data files of broadband provider BT and mobile operator EE before demanding a four million dollar ransom on August 1 2021. Kurtaj is further accused of targeting transport giant Uber, financial technology firm Revolut and Rockstar Games, developer of the Grand Theft Auto series, in quick succession in September 2022, the court has heard. It’s perfectly plain from the evidence that those involved in the attacks were totally serious in this endeavour of hacking companies and stealing valuable data from those companies with the intention of profiting from that, sometimes on a huge scale, whether by blackmail or fraud Prosecutor Kevin Barry He allegedly tried to blackmail Rockstar Games by threatening to “leak the stolen source code for the Grand Theft Auto sequel onto internet forums”, the indictment states. Kurtaj and the youth are also accused of hacking software company Nvidia in February 2022 before threatening to “release Nvidia Corporation’s intellectual property on to the web” if it did not pay them. In a closing speech to the jury on Monday, prosecutor Kevin Barry said: “The victims in this case, and they undoubtedly were victims, they were members of the public who suffered the SIM swap frauds and losses as a result of that. “There were also big corporations who were targeted and attacked. “It hasn’t been suggested by anyone that any of these attacks were just individuals out for larks and laughs. “It’s perfectly plain from the evidence that those involved in the attacks were totally serious in this endeavour of hacking companies and stealing valuable data from those companies with the intention of profiting from that, sometimes on a huge scale, whether by blackmail or fraud.” He said the jury has heard evidence from members of the public who had their data stolen during the BT/EE hack. “They found their lives, some of them, turned upside down with accounts accessed and emptied of savings,” he said. He said one man’s account on Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, had £38,000 taken from it. Mr Barry said “major corporations” were also targeted by the hacking gang and “enormous disruption and costs were suffered by them” as a result. He added: “Make no mistake, in this case, members of the jury, that losses experienced by these companies were real, they were a direct consequence of the defendants’ actions and those of their associates.” He added: “Any loss they suffered through activity like this will ultimately be passed on to their customers, people like us.” He told jurors “each of the defendants has previous convictions for committing computer-enabled offences in the recent past”. Psychiatrists have assessed Kurtaj as unfit to stand trial so the jury must decide whether he committed the acts alleged against him. Kurtaj is charged with 12 offences, including six counts under the Computer Misuse Act, three counts of blackmail and two counts of fraud. The youth is charged with two counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud and three counts under the Computer Misuse Act, relating to the BT/EE and Nvidia allegations. He previously pleaded guilty to one offence under the Computer Misuse Act and one count of fraud. The prosecutor is due to finish his speech on Tuesday.

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Manchester City celebrated with their fans after being crowned Premier League champions for a fifth time in six seasons. City were presented with the trophy for a third season in succession after comfortably beating Chelsea 1-0 in their final home match of the campaign at a sun-drenched Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Their latest triumph could be the first leg of a treble with City still having the FA Cup and Champions League finals – in which they will face Manchester United and Inter Milan respectively – to come next month. Supporters were in party mood after the title was confirmed on Saturday evening following second-placed Arsenal’s loss at Nottingham Forest. Thousands of fans waited outside the stadium entrance to welcome the team prior to the game. Blue flares were set off and there were chants of ‘champions’ as the players stepped off the bus. The celebrations continued throughout the game and for long after the final whistle. The trophy presentation had to be delayed after thousands of fans poured on to the pitch following the conclusion of the game, which a much-changed City side won courtesy of an early Julian Alvarez strike. After being handed the trophy on a podium set up in the centre circle, manager Pep Guardiola and the players embarked on a lap of honour to acknowledge the supporters. Before kick-off, Chelsea formed a guard of honour to welcome City to the field. The ‘Poznan’ fan dance was seen on a number of occasions during the game as fans made the most of the occasion. The players, who were joined by their families, seemed to enjoy themselves both on the field and, as pictures showed, back in the dressing room afterwards. Kevin De Bruyne, who had been a substitute against Chelsea, was one of number of players to run around the field playfully with his children. Yet, as full-back Kyle Walker said, with two big matches still to come, celebrations would remain modest. “We’re not finished, we’ve got the FA Cup against our bitter rivals and the Champions League final on June 10,” Walker told Sky Sports. “We will enjoy it today, we will have a few glasses of champagne but then we move on to June, which is the big one and hopefully we can create history with this great club.”

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