Films stolen: Hackers blackmail Hollywood studios! TheDarkOverlord demands a ransom and threatens early publication.
The hacker group “TheDarkOverlord” is threatening well-known Hollywood studios with publishing content if they don’t pay ransoms. The example of the US hit series “Orange is the New Black” shows that this is not just a bluff. The cyber criminals recently leaked ten episodes - even though the new season will only be officially broadcast from tomorrow, Friday.
FBI warns against payments
The hackers also claim to have acquired entire studio films, for which the first ransom payments have already been received, as The Hollywood Reporter magazine reports. “In many cases, hackers do not return the material even though ransoms have been paid,” warns a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
TheDarkOverlord, however, defends itself against the accusations: “We are a professional company,” explains the collective. The captured material would be returned immediately after the ransom was paid. Netflix and Disney have so far strictly refused to pay ransoms. As TheDarkOverlord explains, other companies are said to have already bought back film material.
Downloads often contaminated
But the cause also has consequences for consumers. Hemanshu Nigam, a former online crimes prosecutor in Los Angeles, warns against downloading the content. According to him, hackers often attach Trojans to leaked material that can be used to directly attack users. “Hackers have teamed up with pirates to inject Trojans or spy programs into users’ computers.”
Disney CEO Robert Iger is said to have challenged the hackers by publicly describing a hacker attack as unsuccessful. In fact, footage from the new film “Pirates of the Caribbean” was stolen, just not to a lucrative extent for the criminals. According to the source, the hackers viewed the statement as an affront. ( Source )
Article image: Shutterstock / vacclav
Notes:
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