Updated! HBO has been targeted by hackers who have reportedly uploaded to the web upcoming episodes of Ballers, Room 104 along with some written material allegedly from next week's Game of Thrones with a promise to release more shortly.
Entertainment Weekly reported that hackers claimed to have taken 1.5TB of data from HBO, which is owned by Time Warner. HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler confirmed to workers in an email that an intrusion had taken place, but he did not give any details as to what might content have been compromised.
"As most of you have probably heard by now, there has been a cyber incident directed at the company which has resulted in some stolen proprietary information, including some of our programming. Any intrusion of this nature is obviously disruptive, unsettling, and disturbing for all of us," Plepler said.
Hollywood studios have been in the hacker's cross hairs this year with Netflix having the entire fifth season of Orange is the New Black stolen and released in May.
"Whether for fame or fortune, cyber attackers are coming after companies of all shapes and sizes. In response, networks like HBO need to recognize they will increasingly be in the cross-hairs of cyber villains, and that cyber security incidents can have a direct and immediate impact to their revenue and reputation," said Chris Petersen, LogRhythm's chief technology officer and senior vice president of R&D.
