Hacker leaks Netflix's 'Orange Is the New Black' season 5 after ransom not paid
Netflix has not responded to a hacker's ransom demand, and as a result, nearly all of season 5 of "Orange Is the New Black" has been released to illicit file sharing sites.
Over the weekend, hacker group "Thedarkoverlord" releases the premiere episode of season 5 of the show. NBC News reported on Monday that a "modest" ransom was demanded to prevent the release of the rest of the season.
"They continue to remain unresponsive," Thedarkoverlord claimed. "With this information in mind (and the fact that leaving people on cliffhangers isn't fun) we've decided to release Episodes 2-10 of 'Orange Is the New Black' Season 5 after many lengthy discussions at the office where alcohol was present."
Netflix so far has little to say about the release. In a very brief statement, the company says that a production company "had its security compromised" and "law enforcement authorities are involved."
A report from TorrentFreak notes that at the end of 2016, the group gained access to Larson Studios in Hollywood, the dialog recording studio that works on "Orange Is the New Black." Allegedly, the production studio agreed to pay the 50 Bitcoin ransom, but didn't end up making the payment.
Thedarkoverlord is not a new group seeking notoriety. The group has successfully hacked Atlanta-based medical groups who care for professional athletes, released data from Gorilla Glue, and leaked contracts and a video of a fatal accident involving construction company Pre-Con Products.
The responsible party for the hack claims that ABC, National Geographic, Fox and IFC are "on the feasting menu" for future video leaks and ransom demands The group also claims that the remainder of the season wasn't available as it was still in post-production when the server holding the files was penetrated.
Netflix is planning to release the entire season of the show on June 9.
Over the weekend, hacker group "Thedarkoverlord" releases the premiere episode of season 5 of the show. NBC News reported on Monday that a "modest" ransom was demanded to prevent the release of the rest of the season.
"They continue to remain unresponsive," Thedarkoverlord claimed. "With this information in mind (and the fact that leaving people on cliffhangers isn't fun) we've decided to release Episodes 2-10 of 'Orange Is the New Black' Season 5 after many lengthy discussions at the office where alcohol was present."
Netflix so far has little to say about the release. In a very brief statement, the company says that a production company "had its security compromised" and "law enforcement authorities are involved."
A report from TorrentFreak notes that at the end of 2016, the group gained access to Larson Studios in Hollywood, the dialog recording studio that works on "Orange Is the New Black." Allegedly, the production studio agreed to pay the 50 Bitcoin ransom, but didn't end up making the payment.
Thedarkoverlord is not a new group seeking notoriety. The group has successfully hacked Atlanta-based medical groups who care for professional athletes, released data from Gorilla Glue, and leaked contracts and a video of a fatal accident involving construction company Pre-Con Products.
The responsible party for the hack claims that ABC, National Geographic, Fox and IFC are "on the feasting menu" for future video leaks and ransom demands The group also claims that the remainder of the season wasn't available as it was still in post-production when the server holding the files was penetrated.
Netflix is planning to release the entire season of the show on June 9.
Comments
"LOL" indeed.
I guarantee you people interested in OISNB already have access to Netflix. So this release would not lose Netflix any subscribers, and I don't think anybody was going to join all of a sudden for season 5, so Netflix is not going to "lose" any would be new subscribes either. If anything the very few that don't have Netflix might download it and say, "Hey I really like this show maybe I should get Netflix."
And it come out in a month anyway? With all the other content to watch out there who can't wait a month rather than pirate download?
Why would Netflix ever pay a dime?
Potential harm to Netflix- 0. Free advertising in the form of news stories mentioning Netflix and OITNB, plus possible getting more people into OITNB- priceless.
it's backfired -- the stock is at an all-time high. Looks like free publicity for episodes
out in a few weeks anyway. They are not pay-per-view, and under the non-commercial
sub model there are no lost profits from ads.
Besides that, anyone with even a shred of IQ will know better not to click some link that advertises the unreleased OITNB episondes. That link will most likely be some malware-infested juju anyways.
Sucks to be Netflix, and especially that production company, but it's a lesson learned and hopefully will result in hardening their security.
Just for fun, I hope they hunt that wannabe hacker and make him suffer. My money is that it's some pimple-faced basement-dweller that probably wouldn't know how to speak to a pretty girl if she were right in front of him.
Sog makes a lot of sense. How exactly is this going to hurt Netflix? People with the subscription will get this right on top of the list and they can choose to watch it without having to download it off TPB, convert it to format of choice and then watch on the TV/ tablet/ phone.
People without Netflix who watch the show would anyway have gotten it sooner or later.