Upcoming episodes of popular HBO shows and a purported script from “Game of Thrones” have reportedly been leaked online.
Entertainment Weekly reported Monday that hackers had breached HBO’s systems and leaked forthcoming episodes of the shows “Ballers” and “Room 104” and what appeared to be a script from hit program “Game of Thrones.”
{mosads}HBO confirmed to the publication in a statement that it had been a victim of a “cyber incident” that compromised company data. The company did not immediately respond to a request from The Hill seeking comment.
The company is said to be working with law enforcement and private cybersecurity firms to investigate the matter. “Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the data we hold,” the company said in a statement published by Entertainment Weekly.
Anonymous hackers are said to have notified reporters of the hack in an email Sunday. The message described the hack as “the greatest leak of cyber space era” and specifically singled out “HBO and Game of Thrones” as the subjects.
The hackers reportedly claimed to have stolen 1.5 terabytes of data from HBO and signaled that more will be leaked.
The much-anticipated seventh season of “Game of Thrones” premiered on July 16 to a record-setting audience of 10.1 million viewers. The script purportedly leaked on the web is from the fourth episode of the season, set to debut next week.
The incident is the latest in a string of breaches targeting Hollywood, including one back in April that resulted in episodes of the new season of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” being released online.
HBO’s chairman and CEO Richard Plepler notified employees of the breach in an email Monday reported by Entertainment Weekly.
“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,” Plepler wrote. “Any intrusion of this nature is obviously disruptive, unsettling, and disturbing for all of us.”