Hackers Demand “Huge” Bitcoin Ransom From Disney
May 16, 2017

Unreleased Walt Disney film is seized by hackers and a Bitcoin demand is made according to Disney CEO Bob Iger. He is reportedly warning about the unreleased film being held hostage unless the “huge” ransom is paid. During a town hall meeting on Monday with American Broadcasting Company employees in New York City, Iger revealed that the hackers have threatened to release the movie, piece by piece. This latest incident comes after news of the WannaCry ransomeware infection and the confirmation from Microsoft that the code originated from the NSA.
Disney’s next two upcoming major movies are “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” which is scheduled to open on May 26, and “Cars 3,” which is scheduled to open on June 16. According to RT Iger has not revealed which film was reportedly stolen. However, a report from Deadline claims that the hackers stole the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The film series has netted the studio over $3.72 billion to date, according to Deadline.
Last month, an anonymous hacker or group of hackers, going by the name TheDarkOverlord (TDO), released the first 10 episodes of the fifth season of the Netflix show, “Orange is the New Black” on Pirate Bay, a popular file-sharing site. The show is officially set to be released on June 9.
TDO claims that the first episode was released after Netflix was “unresponsive” to their demands. They then decided to release the next nine episodes “after many lengthy discussions at the office where alcohol was present,” according to a press release from the hackers obtained by Heavy.
“We figured a pragmatic business such as yourselves would see and understand the benefits of cooperating with a reasonable and merciful entity like ourselves,” the hackers continued. “And to the others: there’s still time to save yourselves. Our offer(s) are still on the table – for now.”
While it is unclear whether the same hackers were behind both attacks, the TDO Twitter account that took credit for the Netflix hack has not mentioned anything about the unreleased Disney film.
However, the account has tweeted that they have obtained unreleased material from ABC, Fox, National Geographic and IFC.
“Who is next on the list? FOX, IFC, NAT GEO, and ABC. Oh, what fun we’re all going to have. We’re not playing any games anymore,” the Twitter account posted in April.
RT copy / TRUNEWS contribution.
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