HBO hacked

Razer g2s at riseup.net
Mon Jul 31 10:15:12 PDT 2017


> On Sunday, an anonymous email was sent to many reporters announcing
> the hack: “Hi to all mankind. The greatest leak of cyber space era is
> happening. What’s its name? Oh I forget to tell. Its 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.” 

http://ew.com/tv/2017/07/31/hbo-hacked-game-of-thrones/

HBO has joined the ranks of Hollywood entertainment companies to suffer
a major cyber attack.

EW has learned that upcoming episodes of a couple series and at least
one alleged script or treatment have been put online by hackers who
breached the company’s systems — with more threatened to be coming soon.

“HBO recently experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the
compromise of proprietary information,” the network confirmed in a
statement. “We immediately began investigating the incident and are
working with law enforcement and outside cybersecurity firms. Data
protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our
responsibility to protect the data we hold.”

Hackers claimed to have obtained 1.5 terabytes of data from the company.
So far, an upcoming episode of Ballers and Room 104 have apparently been
put online. There is also written material that’s allegedly from next
week’s fourth episode of Game of Thrones. More is promised to be “coming
soon.”

HBO is not commenting on what content might have been stolen, confirming
specific titles or the amount of data accessed. This morning, HBO
chairman and CEO Richard Plepler sent an email to HBO employees alerting
them of the breach.

“As most of you have probably heard by now, there has been a cyber
incident directed at the company which has resulted in some stolen
proprietary information, including some of our programming,” he wrote.
“Any intrusion of this nature is obviously disruptive, unsettling, and
disturbing for all of us. I can assure you that senior leadership and
our extraordinary technology team, along with outside experts, are
working round the clock to protect our collective interests. The efforts
across multiple departments have been nothing short of herculean. It is
a textbook example of quintessential HBO teamwork. The problem before us
is unfortunately all too familiar in the world we now find ourselves a
part of. As has been the case with any challenge we have ever faced, I
have absolutely no doubt that we will navigate our way through this
successfully.”

On Sunday, an anonymous email was sent to many reporters announcing the
hack: “Hi to all mankind. The greatest leak of cyber space era is
happening. What’s its name? Oh I forget to tell. Its 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.”

It’s not clear if the hackers actually have what would be the crown
jewel target for an HBO cyber breach — upcoming episodes of the
company’s biggest hit, Game of Thrones. So far, no GoT episodes have leaked.

In April, a hacker penetrated Netflix to release episodes from season 5
of Orange Is the New Black ahead of its summer return. And in May, a
hacker claimed to have stolen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No
Tales, but Disney chief Bob Iger later said the threat was a hoax. The
biggest Hollywood hack victim was Sony in 2014, where approximately 100
terabytes of data was uploaded online (versus the 1.5 TB claimed in the
HBO attack).

For years, HBO has fought a cyber-battle to keep Game of Thrones
storylines secret and the show’s content from being illegally
distributed — particularly before episodes air. In season 5, the first
four episodes leaked online before the show’s season premiere after
review DVDs that were sent to the press and industry insiders. HBO has
since halted the practice of sending any episodes in advance. That same
year, some clips leaked ahead of time from overseas HBO distributors,
and even images of Jon Snow’s death found their way online before the
finale aired. Just a couple weeks ago, a Thrones trailer to be screened
at Comic-Con leaked onto YouTube in advance of its release.



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