Video uploaded by Walt Disney Studios on March 2, 2017
No, I’m not pulling your leg. This Monday, at a town hall meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger told ABC employees that the studio had been robbed and blackmailed. The hackers plundered the upcoming movie and extorted it for a very large sum in bitcoins. They threatened to upload the first five minutes of the movie if their demand wasn’t granted. If the ransom was denied, then the hackers threatened to continue uploading the video in 20-minute chunks. Mr. Iger didn’t specify the amount extorted, but simply mentioned that Disney doesn’t plan on surrendering and now is working with FBI investigators in order to solve the crisis. Rumor has it, the said movie title is, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
It’s a coup worth of Captain Jack Sparrow himself! The crime took place on the heels of the WannaCry worlds’ outbreak, and is unclear if it was a human error, a coincidence, or the malware’s doing. If so, then this ransomware not only encrypted the files but also stole data, which makes us concerned about the type of damage we will see in the future.
The hackers’ threats must not be underestimated! Last month, Netflix lost the fifth season of Orange is the New Black when they refused to pay a ransom. The group of unknown hackers did as they threatened and uploaded the TV show.
We remind you that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is due to be released to theatres on May, 26. This is the fifth part of the immensely popular franchise and if uploaded, will cost Disney tens of millions.
Online security experts warn that anything that is of value can potentially become an object of theft, notwithstanding the physical shape of the target. Digital things can be stolen as easily as the ones from the physical world, if not easier. Will it become a common practice for the studios to pay ransom for their products? If so, then the cinema tickets, DVDs and DRDs will be getting more and more expensive to reimburse. And ultimately, we’ll end up shelling out money to the hackers too. We don’t like that perspective. Do you?
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