As if the ongoing wars for the Iron Throne and for the survival of the North and Westeros are not enough, this season’s “Game of Thrones” is also fighting what appears to be a losing battle against the hackers responsible for breaching HBO’s network and stealing what was claimed to be a massive file from the media giant.
The HBO hackers are now hinting that they are going to leak the season finale of "Game of Thrones" season 7.
HBO hackers' latest data dump
According to the digital media website Mashable, it was contacted by the same group of hackers responsible for breaching HBO’s networks and who claimed to have obtained 1.5TB of files from the entertainment company.
Mashable posted that it has received a “data dump” from the so-called “Mr.Smith group” containing “what appears to be the login credentials for almost every single HBO social media account.” The file contained passwords for accounts such as @HBO, @GameOfThrones, @WestworldHBO, Instagram and Giphy among others.
The website, however, said that there was no “Game of Thrones” spoilers in the data shared with Mashable over email. But at the same time, the hackers also claimed to "have access to many HBO Platforms already." The email then hinted that season finale episode of “Game of Thrones” Season 7 is about to get leaked.
Mashable said for legal reasons, the company did not use the login credentials to know if those were authentic.
However, based on previously shared files, the website said it has no reason to doubt the claims of the hackers.
HBO meanwhile reiterated its previous statement when asked for comment. The network’s last statement said that they are not in communication with the hacker and they are not commenting every time new information is released.
GoT episodes leaked
Ever since the news of the HBO hacking incident came out, "Game of Thrones" season 7 had two incidences of complete episodes accidentally being leaked on the web. However, these leaks were not related to the hacking incident but were the fault of HBO itself.
The fourth episode, the Spoils of War, was leaked few days prior to its airing date by an HBO distributor in India.
Four persons were arrested in connection with the leak. This did not matter because the episode earned record ratings getting over 10 million viewers.
Then almost a full week before its airing date, "Game of Thrones" season 7 ep6, Beyond the Wall, was accidentally broadcast by HBO Spain and Nordic platforms and eventually leaked online. It still unknown if the leak affected the latest episode’s ratings.
If indeed the HBO hackers are in possession of GoT 7 season finale and share it online, it would be the first time a leaked episode is directly related to the breach of HBO’s network - unless HBO beat them to the punch and cause the leak themselves just like before.
