Upcoming Disney Film Target of Online Piracy Threat
May 15 2017 - 6:08PM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Fritz and Joe Flint
A hacker or hackers claim to have stolen an unreleased film from
Walt Disney Co. and threatened to release it online unless the
company pays a ransom, Chief Executive Robert Iger told
employees.
Speaking at a town hall for Disney's ABC News division Monday
where the topic of piracy was raised, Mr. Iger said Disney wouldn't
pay the ransom, according to a person who was present. Without
saying how much was being demanded, this person added, Mr. Iger
said the ransom was supposed to be delivered in bitcoin, the
"virtual currency" that has become a favorite of people engaged in
online extortion schemes.
He didn't disclose what the movie was, the person said. The only
two titles on Disney's summer release slate are "Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Cars 3."
Both are big-budget franchise titles expected to gross more than
$500 million at the global box office. If they were released online
before they hit theaters, it could be a significant blow to
Disney's film business.
The hackers have threatened to first release five minutes of the
movie and then more in 20-minute chunks, Mr. Iger told the Disney
employees.
The hack doesn't appear to be related to the ongoing cyberattack
against businesses and organizations around the world that uses a
vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system first
exploited by the National Security Agency.
It comes, however, at a time of increased concern about digital
vulnerabilities throughout the business world, including in
Hollywood. Hackers recently uploaded an entire season of "Orange is
the New Black" to online file-sharing services before Netflix Inc.
released the episodes on its streaming service.
News of the Disney hacking was reported earlier by the Hollywood
Reporter.
Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com and Joe Flint at
joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2017 18:53 ET (22:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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