Disney chief Bob Iger said Monday hackers claiming to have access to one of the company&#39;s unreleased movies were demanding a &quot;huge&quot; ransom, according to US media reports.

He did not reveal which film had been stolen but said the company would not be giving in to the blackmail attempt, according to The Hollywood Reporter, quoting Iger from a meeting in New York with employees of the Disney-owned ABC television network.

The weekly reported on its website -- citing multiple unnamed sources -- that Disney is working with federal agents and monitoring for leaks online.

Movie website Deadline identified &quot;Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,&quot; which opens on May 26, as the target, without revealing its sources, while some film writers speculated on Twitter that Pixar&#39;s &quot;Cars 3,&quot; due for release next month, might have been hit.

Although both films are expected to do well for Disney, their profits are likely to be dwarfed by another film on the company&#39;s slate -- &quot;Star Wars: The Last Jedi,&quot; which hits theaters on December 15.

&quot;IMO, if it were &#39;Last Jedi,&#39; he would pay in a heartbeat. But &#39;Pirates&#39;... meh,&quot; Ryan Parker, a staff writer on the Hollywood Reporter, speculated on Twitter.

The cyber-thieves demanded to be paid in online currency Bitcoin and are threatening to release five minutes of the movie, followed by 20-minute segments until the ransom is delivered.

The hack follows a recent cyber attack on internet streamer Netflix that led to 10 episodes of &quot;Orange is the New Black&quot; being leaked ahead of release.

&quot;Dead Men Tell No Tales&quot; is the fifth in the &quot;Pirates of the Caribbean&quot; series, which stars Johnny Depp and has taken $3.7 billion at the box office since 2003.&nbsp;

Sci-fi novelist Paul Tassi, who comments on technology and the internet for Forbes Magazine, said &quot;Pirates&quot; would be unlikely to suffer were it the target, since its release date is so near.

&quot;Yes, going to a movie in theaters is one of the more exhausting media experiences still left in society, but the kinds of people who are willing to pay money to see Johnny Depp stumble his way through a fifth &#39;Pirates of the Caribbean&#39; movie in theaters are probably not the type to download a stolen copy of it right before it comes out,&quot; he said.

&quot;And like all movies, &#39;Pirates&#39; would appear on torrent sites regardless practically the day of its release, so the hackers seem to be really over-estimating their impact here.&quot;&nbsp;

More than 200,000 computers in 150 countries were hit by a ransomware cyberattack, described as the largest-ever of its kind, over the weekend.

Since Friday, banks, hospitals and government agencies have been among a variety of targets for hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in older Microsoft computer operating systems.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said the US National Security Agency had developed the code used in the attack.

The Walt Disney Company didn&#39;t respond to requests for comment.&nbsp;

(AFP)

The cyber thieves reportedly demanded to be paid in Bitcoin and are threatening to release five minutes of the movie, followed by 20-minute segments until the ransom is delivered

Disney chief Bob Iger said Monday hackers claiming to have access to one of the company's unreleased movies were demanding a "huge" ransom, according to US media reports. He did not reveal which film had been stolen but said the company would not be giving in to the blackmail attempt, according to The Hollywood Reporter, quoting Iger from a meeting in New York with employees of the Disney-owned ABC television network. The weekly reported on its website -- citing multiple unnamed sources -- that Disney is working with federal agents and monitoring for leaks online. Movie website Deadline identified "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," which opens on May 26, as the target, without revealing its sources, while some film writers speculated on Twitter that Pixar's "Cars 3," due for release next month, might have been hit. Although both films are expected to do well for Disney, their profits are likely to be dwarfed by another film on the company's slate -- "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," which hits theaters on December 15. "IMO, if it were 'Last Jedi,' he would pay in a heartbeat. But 'Pirates'... meh," Ryan Parker, a staff writer on the Hollywood Reporter, speculated on Twitter. The cyber-thieves demanded to be paid in online currency Bitcoin and are threatening to release five minutes of the movie, followed by 20-minute segments until the ransom is delivered. The hack follows a recent cyber attack on internet streamer Netflix that led to 10 episodes of "Orange is the New Black" being leaked ahead of release. "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is the fifth in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, which stars Johnny Depp and has taken $3.7 billion at the box office since 2003. Sci-fi novelist Paul Tassi, who comments on technology and the internet for Forbes Magazine, said "Pirates" would be unlikely to suffer were it the target, since its release date is so near. "Yes, going to a movie in theaters is one of the more exhausting media experiences still left in society, but the kinds of people who are willing to pay money to see Johnny Depp stumble his way through a fifth 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie in theaters are probably not the type to download a stolen copy of it right before it comes out," he said. "And like all movies, 'Pirates' would appear on torrent sites regardless practically the day of its release, so the hackers seem to be really over-estimating their impact here." More than 200,000 computers in 150 countries were hit by a ransomware cyberattack, described as the largest-ever of its kind, over the weekend. Since Friday, banks, hospitals and government agencies have been among a variety of targets for hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in older Microsoft computer operating systems. Microsoft president Brad Smith said the US National Security Agency had developed the code used in the attack. The Walt Disney Company didn't respond to requests for comment. (AFP)

Hackers threaten to leak unreleased Disney movie if not paid 'huge' ransom: Reports

A hacking group calling itself &lsquo;TheDarkOverlord&rsquo; claims to have stolen unreleased television shows from several major networks shared the season five of Netflix&#39;s &ldquo;Orange Is the New Black&rdquo; on Saturday .

It released the content after Netflix failed to pay its ransom requests.&nbsp;

The group says it obtained the content from a post-production company, Larson Studios. It also claims to have stolen unreleased content from ABC, Fox, National Geographic and IFC, according to the New York Times.

The 5th season of &ldquo;Orange Is the New Black&rdquo; was scheduled to be released on Netflix on June 9.

In a statement, Netflix said: &ldquo;We are aware of the situation. A production vendor used by several major TV studios had its security compromised and the appropriate law enforcement authorities are involved.&rdquo;

(WION)

The hacking group calling itself ?TheDarkOverlord? claims to have stolen unreleased television shows from several major networks

A hacking group calling itself ‘TheDarkOverlord’ claims to have stolen unreleased television shows from several major networks shared the season five of Netflix's “Orange Is the New Black” on Saturday . It released the content after Netflix failed to pay its ransom requests. The group says it obtained the content from a post-production company, Larson Studios. It also claims to have stolen unreleased content from ABC, Fox, National Geographic and IFC, according to the New York Times. The 5th season of “Orange Is the New Black” was scheduled to be released on Netflix on June 9. In a statement, Netflix said: “We are aware of the situation. A production vendor used by several major TV studios had its security compromised and the appropriate law enforcement authorities are involved.” (WION)

Hackers leak new season of Netflix's 'Orange Is The New Black'

Leading Democrats are growing increasingly worried that the hackers who made public leaked documents this week were trying to sabotage the Democratic candidates in several central Florida congressional races, the first time such leaks have been targeted so directly. 
 
Two sources familiar with Democratic Party investigations of recent cyber attacks said documents made public this week by the hacker known as Guccifer2 contained information that could damage Democratic candidates in competitive Florida contests for the US House of Representatives. 
 
The documents, hacked from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which raises funds for the party&#39;s House candidates, are detailed dossiers describing the Florida candidates&#39; backgrounds, including personal details, as well as political, economic and demographic profiles of the strategic congressional districts. 
 
Since 1996, the parties winning the counties in the Interstate 4 corridor between Orlando and Tampa, where several of the targeted districts are located, have won the presidency. 
 
Many of the state&#39;s moderate swing voters live in the I-4 corridor, and if Republican voters there turn out in force, it could cut into the vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. 
 
The DCCC was one of several Democratic Party organizations, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton`s presidential campaign, that have been hacked, but the Democratic Party sources said they did not know who might have helped the hackers select the Florida races to target, or what the hackers were trying to accomplish. 
 
There is, though, a growing pattern of attacks on the data systems of US political organizations by hackers whom US intelligence officials and private cyber security firms have concluded are working for or with Russian intelligence agencies.&nbsp; 
 
Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign has hired consultants CrowdStrike to bolster its data security. But two people familiar with attempts to breach the campaign and other Republican organizations said that so far there was no indication of a penetration as serious as those of the Democratic organizations, and CrowdStrike is not investigating any successful hacking of Trump campaign data. 
 
(Reuters)

Leaked dossiers about Florida candidates' political profiles have left the Democrats at a disadvantage in the swing state

Leading Democrats are growing increasingly worried that the hackers who made public leaked documents this week were trying to sabotage the Democratic candidates in several central Florida congressional races, the first time such leaks have been targeted so directly. Two sources familiar with Democratic Party investigations of recent cyber attacks said documents made public this week by the hacker known as Guccifer2 contained information that could damage Democratic candidates in competitive Florida contests for the US House of Representatives. The documents, hacked from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which raises funds for the party's House candidates, are detailed dossiers describing the Florida candidates' backgrounds, including personal details, as well as political, economic and demographic profiles of the strategic congressional districts. Since 1996, the parties winning the counties in the Interstate 4 corridor between Orlando and Tampa, where several of the targeted districts are located, have won the presidency. Many of the state's moderate swing voters live in the I-4 corridor, and if Republican voters there turn out in force, it could cut into the vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The DCCC was one of several Democratic Party organizations, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton`s presidential campaign, that have been hacked, but the Democratic Party sources said they did not know who might have helped the hackers select the Florida races to target, or what the hackers were trying to accomplish. There is, though, a growing pattern of attacks on the data systems of US political organizations by hackers whom US intelligence officials and private cyber security firms have concluded are working for or with Russian intelligence agencies. Donald Trump's presidential campaign has hired consultants CrowdStrike to bolster its data security. But two people familiar with attempts to breach the campaign and other Republican organizations said that so far there was no indication of a penetration as serious as those of the Democratic organizations, and CrowdStrike is not investigating any successful hacking of Trump campaign data. (Reuters)

Democrats vexed about hackers sabotaging tight congressional race in Florida

Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, making it the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. 
 
Bitfinex is one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, and is known in the digital currency community for having a platform that has deep liquidity in the US Dollar-bitcoin currency pair. 
 
Zane Tackett, Director of Community &amp; Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users&#39; accounts, and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. 
 
&quot;The bitcoin was stolen from users&#39; segregated wallets,&quot; he said. 
 
Bitcoin plunged just over 23 per cent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 per cent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. 
 
Tackett added that the breach did not &quot;expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain&quot;, the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based &quot;cryptocurrency&quot; that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. 
 
The volume stolen amounts to about 0.75 per cent of all bitcoin in circulation. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s the biggest USD exchange, so outside China it&#39;s the one that everyone has an account with,&quot; said Antony Lewis, a bitcoin expert in Singapore. &quot;It&#39;s very liquid, folk can trade on margin, lots of daily volume.&quot; 
 
It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally.&nbsp;Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. 
 
The attack on Bitfinex was reminiscent of a similar but larger breach at MtGox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that was forced to file for bankruptcy in early 2014 after hackers stole an estimated $650 million worth of customers&#39; bitcoins. 
 
(Reuters)

?The volume stolen amounts to about 0.75 per cent of all bitcoin in circulation. Bitcoin plunged by just over 23% after the news broke

Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, making it the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, and is known in the digital currency community for having a platform that has deep liquidity in the US Dollar-bitcoin currency pair. Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users' accounts, and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. "The bitcoin was stolen from users' segregated wallets," he said. Bitcoin plunged just over 23 per cent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 per cent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. Tackett added that the breach did not "expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain", the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. The volume stolen amounts to about 0.75 per cent of all bitcoin in circulation. "It's the biggest USD exchange, so outside China it's the one that everyone has an account with," said Antony Lewis, a bitcoin expert in Singapore. "It's very liquid, folk can trade on margin, lots of daily volume." It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. The attack on Bitfinex was reminiscent of a similar but larger breach at MtGox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that was forced to file for bankruptcy in early 2014 after hackers stole an estimated $650 million worth of customers' bitcoins. (Reuters)

Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Hong Kong's Bitfinex exchange

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