The recent HBO hack may have been much worse than the Sony hack

By Sam Barsanti  |  August 2, 2017 | 9:23pm
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Earlier this week, we reported that hackers had broken into HBO’s network and leaked upcoming episodes of Ballers and Room 104 along with a script for a future episode of Game Of Thrones. It seemed like a relatively minor “cyber incident” in the grand scheme of things, even if the hackers promised they would leak more things soon, but it turns out that the hack was much more significant than either HBO or the hackers initially let on. According to a new report from Variety, the hackers seem to have taken “thousands” of internal HBO documents, as well as “images, videos, and sounds.”

The additional leaks include two episodes of Bill Hader’s Barry, which isn’t supposed to air until next year, and the personal information of an HBO executive. That personal information was all included in a text document, and it contains the executive’s information for “dozens of online accounts,” including banking information, paid newspaper subscription logins, and “personal health services.” The hackers may have also been able to gain access to the executive’s corporate email account, and if HBO email system has indeed been compromised, it would mean this hack could be significantly worse than the huge Sony hack from a few years ago.

However, HBO president and CEO Richard Plepler says the email system is secure. As reported in a separate Variety story, Plepler has told staff that a “forensic review is ongoing,” but they “do not believe” that the email system “as a whole” has been hit. Still, even if everybody at HBO’s email hasn’t been compromised, the hackers still seem to have a lot of data that could prove to be pretty dangerous for the premium cable network.

 
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