Remember those nail-biting days when hackers threatened HBO to pay up or risk the leak of crucial plot points of Game of Thrones Season 7? Well, justice has caught up with them at last. A 29-year-old Iran-based hacker, Behzad Mesri, also known as Skote Vahshat, has been charged by US prosecutors with hacking into cable TV network HBO and stealing episodes and plot summaries of popular unaired programmes, including Game of Thrones.
Mesri, armed with the catch line, “Winter is coming. HBO is falling”, threatened to leak the data unless he was paid $6 million.
According to Associated Press, the indictment filed on Tuesday in a federal court in Manhattan says Mesri stole unaired episodes from shows including Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Deuce, story plot summaries and scripts for Game of Thrones and confidential cast and crew contact lists.
Mesri, a fugitive living in Iran, infiltrated computer accounts of HBO employees earlier this year and tried to blackmail the company. According to the indictment, HBO apparently refused to pay and Mesri began leaking portions of the stolen material on websites he controlled.
Although Mesri is not in custody, prosecutors decided to publicly charge him and put him on the FBI’s most-wanted list to send a message to outlaw hackers.
“Today, winter has come for Behzad Mesri. He will forever be looking over his shoulder. And if he isn’t, he should be.”Joon Kim, Acting US Attorney
However, the indictment doesn’t suggest Mesri targeted HBO on behalf of Iran’s government or with its financial or other support, said Collin Anderson, a US-based internet researcher who specializes in Iran.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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