The hackers allegedly responsible for pinching 1.5TB of data from secure HBO systems have published a new data leak, which includes the phone numbers and email addresses of several Game Of Thrones stars, along with a ransom note demanding up to $9.5m from the cable network.
The Guardian reports the most recent leak, totalling 3.4GB of data, contains the contact details of Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, and Lena Headey, among others. Five Game Of Thrones draft scripts are also contained in the data dump.
In a shoddily-worded video message addressed to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, the hackers threaten to release even more proprietary information, including full series, unless the television giant coughs up.
HBO spends nearly 100 million to produce GOT6 and spends lots of money for series like Insecure, Ballers, The Deuce, Barry, Room 104 and …. . Now we have final scripts and final video files of them. HBO spends 12 million in 2017 for Market Research and 5 million for GOT7 advertisements. So consider us another budget for your advertisements!
Notably, the hackers say they haven’t yet found the entirety of Game Of Thrones’ “very carefully” concealed seventh season due to “lack of time”, but they say they “we are so close.”
While the hackers don’t name an exact dollar figure for their ransom, they claim to earn up to $19m a year by extorting other companies. The video demands Plepler “pay our 6 month salary to bitcoin” so “we get away form (sic) your map.”
In a statement obtained by Mashable, HBO seemed to confirm the authenticity of the video and the most recent leak. The statement claims “HBO believed that further leaks might emerge from this cyber incident when we confirmed it last week. As we said, the forensic review is ongoing.”
For the meantime, perhaps refrain from giving any cast members a buzz.
