The internet has been around for decades.
Those who grew up during those times, like Generation X and Millennials, are capable of using the technology, in many ways better than most Boomers. Many Generation X and Millennials are fond of the technology, and many are likely tech-savvy.
But those who grew up when the internet is already a household name, like the younger Generation Z, tend to be even more capable and more knowledgeable.
Lapsus$ is a notorious hacker group that have targets all around the world. Through their cyberattack strategies, the group's debuted by breaching Brazilian Health Ministry's computer systems and stole COVID-19 vaccination data. After that, the group breached big tech companies including Microsoft, Nvidia, Ubisoft, Samsung, and more.
Due to the group's high-profiled targets and how the they bragged about successful hacks, the hacker group has become one of the most talked about and the most feared hacker cyber-crime gangs in the world.
However, little did the world knew, that the mastermind behind Lapsus$ is allegedly a teenager who still lives with his parents.
Unlike most other resilient and persistent hacking groups that lurk within the shadows of online hacker forums and the dark web, Lapsus$ uses Telegram for data dump announcements, advertisements and recruitments.
Lapsus$ don't necessarily live in the dark either. Instead, the hacking group has even gone as far as joining Zoom calls of companies they’ve breached, where they have taunted employees and consultants who are trying to clean up their hack.
According to reports, the group's mastermind is a 16-year-old teenager living in Oxford, England.
When the police arrived to the neighborhood. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The teens' home at Kidlington is a modest terraced house on a quiet side the street, located a not very far from Oxford University.
Ringing on the bell, a woman answered the door.
She didn't expect the police to show up, and was unaware of the allegations against her son or the leaked materials.
The teenager who goes online with the online moniker "White" or "Breachbase" was arrested at his home.
"I had never heard about any of this until recently. He's never talked about any hacking, but he is very good on computers and spends a lot of time on the computer. I always thought he was playing games," the Lapsus$' mastermind's father said.
"We're going to try to stop him from going on computers."
The authorities managed to catch the alleged mastermind of Lapsus$, mainly because the teen's real identity was revealed online.
It all began when the group’s leader purchased Doxbin, a website where people can share or find personal information on others. But after purchasing it, Lapsus$ didn't maintain the site well, and apparently gave up its control on January 2022, returning it to the original owner. However, the group subsequently leaked "the entire Doxbin data set" to Telegram.
Doxbin community who knew the alleged Lapsus$ leader retaliated by revealing White's identity.
His real identity was shared on a hacker website, after an apparent falling out with business partners.
White's real identity was revealed, alongside his real name, home address, and also his social media pictures.
Other data also include information about his parents.
"After a few years his net worth accumulated to well over 300BTC [close to $14m]… [he is] now is affiliated with a wannabe ransomware group known as 'Lapsus$', who has been extorting & 'hacking' several organisations," the leaker said.
In other words, White was doxxed.
The teen who goes by the name White, was born on February 19, 2005 and named Arion K.
Arion, who is alleged to have amassed a $14 million (£10.6 million) fortune from his group's hacking spree, has been arrested alongside six other teens in an alleged connection with the Lapsus$ group.
One of the teens is reported to have previously been involved in the Electronic Arts hack back in 2021.
They were arrested in March 22 by the City of London Police.
According to Detective Inspector Michael O'Sullivan, Head of the Cyber Crime Unit at City of London Police:
"Seven people between the ages of 16 and 21 have been arrested in connection with this investigation and have all been released under investigation."
The teen is exposed due to the mistakes he did that made him failed to cover his tracks.
Add that to Lapsus$' notorious brags, made Arion even more vulnerable.
Researchers and the authorities from the FBI, The Thames Valley Police and the National Crime Agency who cross-checked and tracked all of Arion's social media posts, email addresses being used and everything else he did on the web and beyond, were certain that Arion is indeed their target.
Besides Arion, another core member of Lapsus$ is a teenager in Brazil. Another teen who was arrested, was apparently involved with a data breach at EA.
Following the finding, a number of independent researchers also started investigating, some work behalf of the companies that were previously hacked by Lapsus$.
All of them also believe that Arion is the mastermind.
Among the things he did, the teen allegedly led Lapsus$, and befuddled cybersecurity experts as the hacking group embarked on a rampage of high-profile hacks.
The researchers praised the teen as being so skilled at hacking, describing how fast and knowledgeable he is.
Arion was so proficient that the researchers initially thought the activity they were observing was automated.
It's worth noting that the researchers used forensic evidence from the hacks as well as publicly available information to tie the teen to the hacking group. While the teen is suspected by the researchers of being behind some of the major hacks carried out by Lapsus$, the researchers cannot conclusively tie him to all hacks Lapsus$ has claimed.
While Lapsus$ has claimed to have hacked many organizations around the world, the group's true motivation remains unclear.
Researchers suggest that they believe the group is mostly motivated by notoriety first, then about the money.
When white is at custody, the group remains active on Telegram, where the group's channel on March 23 wrote that "some of our members will be on vacation until March 30th, we rest for a while, thanks for understanding, we will post more material as soon as possible."
Days later, the group added that "we have noticed that many users are impersonating the Lapsus $ staff. Remember that anyone who claims to be Lapsus $ is most likely an imposter."
Responding to Lapsus$ global hacking campaign, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang shared that his company's own experience dealing with the hacker a "wake-up call."
In December 2023, the 18-year old Arion Kurtaj has been sentenced to life in hospital prison.
The teenager who also stole 90 clips of the unreleased Grand Theft Auto 6 game as part of his hacking spree can only be released in the future if doctors decide he’s no longer a danger to others.