HBO Hackers Demand $6 Million Ransom

The cybercriminals say they'll return the stolen files if they're paid in Bitcoin.

August 8, 2017 9:53 am
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister in an episode of 'Game of Thrones,' which was targeted in a recent hack of HBO. (Macall B. Polay/HBO)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister in an episode of 'Game of Thrones,' which was targeted in a recent hack of HBO. (Macall B. Polay/HBO)

HBO hackers have leaked their loot again, but left a ransom note this time.

A new set of stolen HBO files were posted online Monday by hackers demanding a ransom worth millions in Bitcoin. The fresh cache included an upcoming episode of Game of Thrones and scripts for five more episodes of the network’s hit fantasy series.

New York Times reports the hacker’s latest data dump also included internal documents detailing legal claims, job offers to top executives, and a month’s worth of emails from HBO’s vice president for film programming, Leslie Cohen.

HBO has previously acknowledged the theft of “proprietary information” worth 1.5 terabytes of data. This is the second leak following the hack. Both have been limited and, so far, haven’t been nearly as damaging as the 2015 Sony attacks, which leaked personal information and embarrassing emails. HBO doesn’t believe its entire email system was compromised, according to the New York Times.

The hackers, going by “Mr. Smith,” promised to stop leaking the stolen files if they are paid $6 million in Bitcoin. They claim to have upcoming HBO content and damaging information to the network.

The fourth episode of Game of Thrones‘ seventh season was leaked days ahead of its Sunday premiere in an unrelated incident.

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