possibility of hackers pirating for ransom pre-release season from CBS

[jefferiestubes8]

An interesting story about Netflix this week where hackers pirated the new season of Orange is the New Black and unless a ransom is payed they would illegally release the season pre-release 2 months early.

Using the alias The Dark Overlord, the hacker reportedly stole other TV shows in the breach, according to the AP, and may have already uploaded the first episode of “Orange Is the New Black” Season 5 to an illegal file-sharing website.

SOURCE

TDO attempted to get money in exchange for the return of “Orange is the New Black” episodes; when the hacker failed to get the desired funds, pirates were suddenly able to feast Friday on the season premiere, which Netflix scheduled for release in June.

SOURCE 2 SOURCE 3

Source4
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanwh...-after-failed-blackmail-attempt/#e70c42161366

More of the story in this comment from the hacker-extorters:
https://www.databreaches.net/thedar...ix-doesnt-pay-extortion-demand/#comment-70730

While I don't think CBS will have the entire season ready before the premiere or episode 2 is available on Netflix could this actually happen to DSC also? I'm sure after this incident with OITNB that efforts to add security to their vendors will be upgraded.

 

[Tosk]

Could? Sure. Will? Nah.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Different markets.

Netflix people are lazy (after a hard days work?) with a little cash to burn.

Downloaders are librarians trapped in a library with a thousand monkeys.

Downloaders download because they don't have Netflix, and Netflixers don't need to download.

 

[Brainsucker]

Different markets.

Netflix people are lazy (after a hard days work?) with a little cash to burn.

Downloaders are librarians trapped in a library with a thousand monkeys.

Downloaders download because they don't have Netflix, and Netflixers don't need to download.

I agree. You don't need to download if you can watch it online. Because it's easier and faster. Plus it can also become a cheap advertisement to get people attention to the newest Star Trek. First, they will download the pilot show that has been hijacked / pirated. Then when they like it, they will come to Netflix / CBS to watch, if they have money to burn for it. Because watch it streaming is easier and more convenient than to download all the episodes and keep it in your hard drive. Why to keep it when you can just watch it everyday online? You can just use your hard drive capacity to other more important things.

 

[Space Coast]

Nah, they'd probably just put it up on a streaming website, then CBS would play whack-a-mole for a few months trying to stomp out every copy online.

 

[Mad Jack Wolfe]

Well, CBS need to finally shoot an episode before we start worrying about piracy, yeah? I have yet to see any indication that CBS are capable of getting out of their own way in that regard.

The streaming format will only make things easier for digital pirates. Just look at how many Doctor Who torrents are gleaned from the BBC's iPlayer app.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Just to clarify... Illegal Streaming and illegal downlading is the same thing.

Streaming makes sure that the information packets that you receive are in sequential order, so that you can review the media before it has finished downloading. After you have finished streaming an episode of something (illegally) a complete file of that media is stored in your browsers temp folder, until you close your browser.

Been a while since I used torrents, but I remember that some download clients allow you to stream torrents, as if they were youtubelike streaming media.

 

[tafkats]

Isn't committing a ransom crime pretty self-defeating, in that the act of claiming the ransom automatically puts you in a position to be caught?

I guess if you're in a different country from the target and the country you're in isn't interested in enforcement, maybe...

 

[Guy Gardener]

Ransom running smoothly depends on the person with money being too worried to talk to the authorities, because talking to the authorities will highlight a liability that many others may also chose to exploit.

What Netflix decided to do instead is attach a monetary value of zero to leaked episodes. They didn't give some asshole leaker a 100 bitcoins to suppress the leak, so there is no reward/profit in leaking more episodes, or stealing more episodes.

They took a hit now, to guarantee profit in the future.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Interesting story. In a way this could actually benefit Netflix. As previously mentioned, those who already subscribe to Netflix will just watch it on Netflix, it's really those who don't subscribe that will be downloading it illegally. And once Netflix beefs up security to stop this particular hacking, those who have been watching will have nowhere to go but Netflix. Or, they will wait and watch it after it has premiered and someone has posted it elsewhere, but the people who have been doing that weren't going to subscribe to Netflix anyway. So really, Netflix has a very small opportunity to pick up some new subscribers, while also being able to claim the moral high ground by shaming the extorters.

It's hard to see why the hackers thought this plan would actually work in their favor.

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

Hackers hacking a new series before its released? Blackmailing the studio for ransom in order not to release it? What happened to the good old days when a movie or TV series was torrented (or whatever it's called) after it was released? Not that I condone that, but this... This takes pirating to a whole new level.

 

[Prax]

Interesting story. In a way this could actually benefit Netflix. As previously mentioned, those who already subscribe to Netflix will just watch it on Netflix, it's really those who don't subscribe that will be downloading it illegally. And once Netflix beefs up security to stop this particular hacking, those who have been watching will have nowhere to go but Netflix. Or, they will wait and watch it after it has premiered and someone has posted it elsewhere, but the people who have been doing that weren't going to subscribe to Netflix anyway. So really, Netflix has a very small opportunity to pick up some new subscribers, while also being able to claim the moral high ground by shaming the extorters.

It's hard to see why the hackers thought this plan would actually work in their favor.

Then perhaps it was a publicity stunt.

 

[RomulanCommander]

Isn't committing a ransom crime pretty self-defeating, in that the act of claiming the ransom automatically puts you in a position to be caught?

I guess if you're in a different country from the target and the country you're in isn't interested in enforcement, maybe...

That's why Bitcoin was invented!

 

[Guy Gardener]

Hackers hacking a new series before its released? Blackmailing the studio for ransom in order not to release it? What happened to the good old days when a movie or TV series was torrented (or whatever it's called) after it was released? Not that I condone that, but this... This takes pirating to a whole new level.

No one hacked Netflix.

It' more likely that a situation happened where these episodes fell into Dark Overlord's lap because a third party was careless. If Netflix had truly been hacked, more would have been taken and Netflix would have been crying like a little ##### throwing money at this person while they are trying to close the holes in their security.

 

[EnderAKH]

http://tvweb.com/dark-overlord-hackers-leaked-tv-show-list/
That's exactly what happened. It looks like this occurred from a breach at a vendor in California. The Discovery is not reported to be affected. The other shows are:
A Midsummers Nightmare, Above Suspicion, Bill Nye Saves The World, Breakthrough, Brockmire, Bunkd, Celebrity Apprentice, Food Fact or Fiction, Handsome, Hopefuls, Hum, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jason Alexander Project, Liza Koshy Special, Lucha Underground, Lucky Roll, Making History, Man Seeking Woman, Max and Shred, Mega Park, NCIS Los Angeles, New Girl, Portlandia, Rebel In The Rye, Steve Harvey's Funderdome, Story of God with Morgan Freeman, Superhuman, The Arrangement, The Catch, The Middle, The Stanley Dynamic, The Thundermans, Undeniable with Joe Buck, Win It All, X Company, and XXX Return of Xander Cage.

 

[Guy Gardener]

That's a shit ton of data, from a lot of places.

I am sad that the recently cancelled and shelfed Time after Time was not on that list, since it's not going to air conventionally any time soon.

 

[Tuskin38]

The Discovery is not reported to be affected

I'm not sure how it would be, I doubt any of the episodes are done full production yet.