An 18-year-old hacker from Oxford has been sentenced to indefinite confinement after a series of astounding cybercrimes.
While on bail for hacking Nvidia and the phone company, the hacker’s laptop was confiscated, and he was placed under police protection in a Travelodge hotel.
While there, he used an Amazon Firestick, a mobile phone, and the hotel television to hack Rockstar Games, the creator of the Grand Theft Auto games. He stole 90 clips of the unreleased Grand Theft Auto VI game, then breached Rockstar’s Slack to demand a ransom.
Rockstar claims that the hack cost them $5 million.
At his hearing, the mental health assessment of the hacker stated that he “continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible.”
Of course, this is a tragic story about a young person with obvious and extreme talents who has chosen a disastrous path. Yet I can’t help but admire him a bit. My first novel, “Something Missing,” is about a burglar who is so good at his job that quitting would almost seem wrong. My burglar, Martin, only steals things that go unnoticed by the homeowners, and in returning to their homes week after week, they become his “clients” and he begins to feel affection for them.
Martin eventually finds himself involved in his clients’ lives in surprisingly positive and even lifesaving ways.
Still, he’s a criminal. He’s absolutely breaking the law. He’s stealing, and while doing so, he’s also violating the privacy of individuals and the sanctity of their homes.
It’s not right.
But when you’re so good at something – better than most and perhaps the best – it’s hard to imagine giving it up, even when your unique skillset requires you to break the law.
Loving your job isn’t always great, particularly when that love requires you to become a criminal.
I can’t help but wonder if this hacker feels similarly.
