A fresh cache of stolen HBO files were released on Monday, by hackers using the name “Mr. Smith.”
In a video directed to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, “Mr. Smith” used white text on a black background to threaten further disclosures if HBO doesn’t pay up. To stop the leaks, the purported hackers have demanded “our 6 month salary in bitcoin,” which they implied is at least $6 million.
The latest release included what appear to be scripts from five “Game of Thrones” episodes – including one upcoming episode, as well as a month’s worth of emails from Leslie Cohen, HBO’s vice president of film programming.
Internal documents, including a legal claims report against the network and job offer letters to top executives, were also unveiled in this latest hack.
HBO, which previously acknowledged the theft of “proprietary information,” said it’s continuing to investigate and is working with police and cybersecurity experts. The network said on Monday that it still doesn’t believe that its email system “as a whole” has been compromised.
This is the second data dump from the purported hacker. So far the HBO leaks, which have also included episodes of Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, have been limited, falling well short of the chaos inflicted on Sony in 2014.
In that attack, hackers unearthed thousands of embarrassing emails and released personal information, including salaries and social security numbers, of nearly 50,000 current and former Sony employees.
Those behind the HBO hack claim to have more data, including scripts, upcoming episodes of HBO shows and movies, and information damaging to HBO.
