GOT Hacking Incident: Hackers Threaten To Release More Episodes

“Be ready for GOT S& E6 &E7 as soon as possible,” the hacker group responsible for stealing 1.5 terabytes of information from HBO’s servers said in an email on Saturday.

The group, which identifies itself as the Mr Smith Group, also claimed to have access to several HBO social media accounts, including the Twitter and Instagram pages for shows like Westworld and Game of Thrones.

In an email to Mashable, the hackers said that they wanted the attention of HBO executives, who recently offered them $250,000 to buy time, even as episode after episode found its way online without the hackers’ help.

Episode 4 of the ongoing seventh season of the hit fantasy series was leaked online by individuals associated with HBO’s Indian streaming partner, Hotstar. Four persons were later arrested. Episode 6 was accidentally aired four days before its scheduled date by HBO Spain. The episode subsequently found its way online.

The hackers are reportedly asking for approximately $6.5 million in Bitcoin (this amounts to roughly Rs 41 crore).

Mashable reached out to HBO for a statement, and received an old reply: “We are not in communication with the hacker and we’re not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released,” it read in part. “It has been widely reported that there was a cyber incident at HBO. The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. That’s a game we’re not going to participate in.”

The sixth episode of Game of Thrones will air on Hotstar on Monday and Star World and Star World HD on Tuesday. Stay tuned for our review, and in the meantime, you can read our coverage of the previous episodes.