As digital delivery of movies and other entertainment becomes ever more ubiquitous, the risks are likewise rising, as Netflix found out recently when episodes of Orange Is The New Black Season 5 were leaked online after a ransom demand. Now Disney is the target of a hack and a similar financial claim, as confirmed by Disney chief Bob Iger.
While initial sources from his announcement to ABC employees didn't specify beyond the fact that it's a Disney title soon to be in cinemas, Deadline is reporting that the target is Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, AKA Salazar's Revenge here. The hackers claim they have a copy of the film and that they will release chunks of it online if a certain amount wasn't paid by the studio in Bitcoin. The Mouse House is refusing to pay and is working with the FBI to figure out its next step.
While it's hard not to see the irony in pirates snatching a Pirates film, the issue is becoming more troublesome for companies already waging a war against movie thievery. If we're not careful, Disney will be reduced to sending Johnny Depp round to everyone's houses to act out the movie himself with sock puppets and props, and nobody wants that. The plan remains to release the new Pirates film in cinemas on 26 May.
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