Arion Kurtaj from Oxford, a hacker who is said to have penetrated the security of the game creators Grand Theft Auto, has been given what amounts to a life sentence for allegedly costing the companies £5m or so.
Kurtaj, who is 18 years old, is said to be severely autistic and was judged to be unfit to be tried. In place of a trial, Southwark Crown Court, made an order that he be kept in a mental institution until doctors decided he was fit. Given that there is no known cure for severe autism this amounts to a whole life sentence.
The game's preview got 128m views on Youtube in the first four days after launch, so Kurtaj's lawyers suggested that the developers were not unduly damaged.
Of course Kurtaj, part of a gang that sent the warning in the attached picture, only targeted money. Intelligence officers who illegally hack in order to cause distress and as an unusual form of punishment, are in an entirely different category.
See BBC report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67663128?
Jonathan Brind