Last week, HBO learned that it was the target of a massive cyberattack in which hackers claim to have acquired an estimated 1.5 terabytes of data from the network’s servers. (For context, that’s about seven times as much data as the amount reported stolen in the 2014 Sony hack.) The hackers, going by the name little.finger66, have already released episodes of shows like Ballers online, but other information they may have potentially obtained include financial information, employees’ personal data, and more. The FBI and cybersecurity firm Mandiant are investigating.
Now, on Friday, more bad news for HBO: Episode 4 of the new season of Game of Thrones, which is set to air on Sunday, has surfaced on the internet two days early. Incredibly, this isn’t related to the hack—it’s just really unfortunate timing, as Vulture and other outlets have confirmed that “The Spoils of War” was acquired in a data breach from the show’s Indian distributor, Star India—presumably from a different group of hackers who have yet to identify themselves. The little.finger66 hackers do not appear to have acquired any episodes of Game of Thrones, although they did get their hands on at least one script.
To make matters even worse, the Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that someone purporting to be a hacker is threatening to release HBO’s emails on Sunday, just days after CEO Richard Plepler told staff that “we do not believe that our email system as a whole has been compromised.” An email sent to the Hollywood Reporter suggests that the hackers had made some kind of ransom demand which HBO failed to meet, something HBO has not confirmed.
