Seems like real life pirates have held Disney at ransom.
Disney, which releases Pirate of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on Friday, revealed on Monday that hackers have threatened to leak the upcoming movie unless a huge sum is paid on Bitcoin.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney Chief told ABC employees that the hackers have threatened to release the first five minute at first, and then the rest of the film in 20-minute videos, but the studio has refused to pay the sum and will be working with federal investigators.
It has not been confirmed if the movie in question is Pirates of the Caribbean 5, which had a budget of $300 million or Cars 3, which is set to release on 16 June. According to The Hollywood Reporter, rumors were in circulation that a work print of Star Wars: The Last Jedi was held for ransom.
This report comes only weeks after 10 episodes of Orange is The New Black was spilled on the Pirate Bay after Netflix refused to pay the ransom amount.
In the last few days, ransomware cyberattacks such as these incidents have affected systems across the globe.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)