Is another Game of Thrones leak on the cards?
On Thursday night, Variety along with other publications claimed to have obtained a message by the anonymous HBO hacker regarding an offer made by HBO to make the hacker go away.
The message from HBO to the hacker contains a bounty payment offer of $250,000.
Surprisingly, HBO’s message to the online thief was not confrontational or angry but rather calm and a source close to the investigation said that it was worded in such a way so that the television company could stall for time to assess the situation.
They felt the offer of $250,000 was generous and enough to keep the hacker off their back and to stop any further leaks from happening.
It also contains a plea from HBO to extend the ransom-payment deadline for one week while the transfer was being made.
Previously, the hacker had asked for a six-month salary which would be half of the $12-15 million per year that they claim to make.
Variety has opted not to publish the name or email address of the HBO executive from which the message was sent.
The first incident of the hacking came over a week ago when the fourth episode of the current series of Game of Thrones was leaked on Reddit days before its Monday broadcast.
Then, on Thursday, they released several phone numbers and home addresses belonging to some of the cast from Game of Thrones.
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