Disney recently announced through a town hall meeting with ABC employees in New York that one of their properties has been stolen. The hackers responsible are apparently demanding a huge sum of money to be paid in Bitcoin. Recent reports have revealed that the property is actually Jerry Bruckheimer's upcoming swashbuckler sequel, "pirates Of The caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." The fifth installment is scheduled to be released next week, on May 26.
Leak threats
The hackers have reportedly revealed that if they demands are not met, they will be releasing bits of the movie, in increments, to the public.
If this happens, the box office numbers for Disney may be directly affected as there is really no stopping the film from spreading online once it is uploaded. Disney is reportedly working with the FBI to track down the infiltrators.
Not backing down
A similar incident had also happened to Netflix just recently, where hackers were able to acquire several full episodes of the company's hit television series, "Orange is The New Black." Netflix refused to pay the ransom, which prompted the hackers to dump all of the episodes online.
Disney reportedly does not want to pay the ransom as well and are determined to capture the hackers. According to a cyber security expert, hackers are now becoming bolder in attacking big film studios due to the many vulnerabilities in how the properties are being transported.
Modus operandi
Disney may have a sophisticated cyber security system in place, but its suppliers and the small production studios it is working with may not have the same security on their end. Hackers could just as easily attack these smaller companies and hijack the data while they are in transit.
Additionally, tracking down the perpetrators may not be as easy as it sounds as hackers are getting much more sophisticated in covering their tracks.
The FBI and other security firms must track the attacks backward to try to find the identity and location of the hackers, but that could easily be thwarted with the right software and techniques.
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise is a multi-billion property for Disney as it has managed to pull in more than $3.72 billion worldwide since it first started in 2003.
Disney's refusal to ante up may greatly affect the studio's income for the upcoming movie. However, it has yet to be determined what the hacker's next steps will be now that Disney has outright refused to meet their demands.
