Disney CEO Says Hackers Are Threatening to Release Upcoming Movie if They’re Not Paid a Ransom
This is not the future that Angelina Jolie movie foretold.
According to a wild story in The Hollywood Reporter, hackers claim to have stolen an upcoming Disney film, and are threatening to release it on the internet if they’re not paid:
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed Monday that hackers claiming to have access to a Disney movie are demanding a ransom. Iger didn't disclose the name of the film, but said Disney isn't paying. The company — which is working with federal investigators — is now waiting to see if the hackers makes good on the threat and release the movie.
According to THR the hackers “demanded that a huge sum be paid on Bitcoin.” If they’re not paid, they say they’re going to release five minutes of the movie; and then another 20 minutes, and another, and another, until they get their bitcoins.
Iger apparently revealed this information at an employee town hall, but didn’t specify what movie had been taken; THR speculates it could be Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Cars 3, both of which are due in theaters in the next few weeks. The news follows a recent similar case where hackers threatened to upload upcoming episodes of Orange Is the New Black to the web if Netflix didn’t pony up cash.
This feels very weird because last night I watched The Rock, a movie where an elite unit of military men steal chemical weapons and threaten to obliterate San Francisco, demanding reparations from the U.S. government for their fallen comrades. Now, in real life, guys sitting behind their computers hold Mickey Mouse hostage. We are living in strange times. If only we had taken Hackers more seriously when that movie came out in 1995.