Disney Studio is appeared to be the latest target of the ransomware attacks as the Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly told ABC employees Monday that the hackers have been threatening to leak one of their upcoming movies.
Although the Disney CEO did not reveal the name of the movie, but Deadline reports it's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The film which stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley, is slated for release on May 25.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the hackers have been threatening to release five minutes of the film and then release it in 20-minute increments until their demands are met.
If the hackers apparently have the fifth sequel of the Pirates of the Caribbean flick (as it is said to be, although it's not confirmed yet), then a leak could be a big blow for Disney as it will affect the worldwide box office collection. The Johnny Depp-starrer is reportedly one of the big-budget movies by Disney. According to The Telegraph, the studio spent over $300 million to make the film.
Hector Monsegur, Director of Security Assessments for Rhino Security Labs, told Deadline that, "attribution is probably the hardest thing the FBI is dealing with here."
"It's nearly impossible because you have various hackers from pretty much anywhere. Also, they are aware of techniques to track them down. So you could have an Egyptian hacker who uses Russian software so it looks like it's Russian but is actually from Egypt," Monsegur continued.
Disney isn't the only studio similarly threatened by hackers in recent weeks. An anonymous group of hackers allegedly leaked 10 episodes of the fifth season of Orange is the New Black in April as Netflix refused to pay a ransom. The same group named several other networks in that threat, including the Disney-owned ABC network.
Apart from that, hackers have also targeted other renowned Hollywood agencies including UTA, ICM, and WME. In 2014 hackers paralysed Sony Pictures and demanded the cancellation of the distribution of The Interview, a comedy film about a plot to assassinate North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un.
The fifth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, revolves around how dead Captain Salazar takes revenge on iconic Jack Sparrow. The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil's Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea—notably Jack. Watch the trailer.
