HBO hacked: Game of Thrones episodes may have been leaked online
By soumick s | First Published Aug 1, 2017, 12:33 PM IST- HBO in a statement said that hackers had stolen ‘proprietary information’ from the company’s computers
- Although HBO has not disclosed what the information is, reports say the stolen content may include new episodes of Game of Thrones
- This isn’t the first time a Hollywood studio is being hacked. A group called The Dark Overlord demanded ransom from Netflix for its hack in April of the upcoming season of Orange is the New Black
If you think Aadhaar and other government organisations cannot protect their data from hackers, a major Hollywood entertainment company with enough money to protect their content suffered a major cyber attack.
HBO in a statement said that hackers had stolen ‘proprietary information’ from the company’s computers. And although HBO has not disclosed what the information is, reports say the stolen content may include new episodes of Game of Thrones, along with episodes of other series that HBO broadcasts.
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“HBO recently experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the compromise of proprietary information,” the company said in a statement. “We immediately began investigating the incident and are working with law enforcement and outside cyber-security firms. Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take our responsibility seriously to protect the data we hold.”
Hackers claimed to have obtained 1.5 terabytes of data from the company. One episode each of Ballers and Room 104 had been posted online, but no episodes of Game of Thrones had yet appeared, according to Entertainment Weekly. HBO has gone to extraordinary pains to protect the next plot twists from Game of Thrones from leaking to the public.
The hackers, on Sunday, July 30, sent emails to reporters saying, “Hi to all mankind. The greatest leak of cyber space era is happening. What’s its name? Oh, I forget to tell. It's HBO and Game of Thrones……!!!!!! You are lucky to be the first pioneers to witness and download the leak. Enjoy it & spread the words. Whoever spreads well, we will have an interview with him. HBO is falling.”
Game of Thrones is the highest-rated cable program across all platforms. 12.7 million tuned into HBO itself for the seventh-season premiere on premium cable network (GoT does not run on basic cable network). It is said that people who do not have premium cable subscribe to other services like ‘Hotstar’ to watch the episodes. This makes protecting the episodes even more important.
This isn’t the first time a Hollywood studio is being hacked. A group called The Dark Overlord demanded ransom from Netflix for its hack in April of the upcoming season of Orange is the New Black.
Back in 2014, the computer systems of Sony Pictures were hacked, which led to the public release of embarrassing e-mails, employee payment records and other information. US officials had blamed North Korea for it.
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