The thedarkoverlord blackmail thing, leaking new releases if not paid ransom.

[digitalwanderer]

Very, VERY uncool! Came across the leak of season 5 episodes 1-10 of "Orange is the New Black" this morning with this info:

Hello, this is thedarkoverlord (@tdohack3r) here to deliver a message

We're back again. Did you miss us? Of course, you did. We're willing to bet Netflix did as well. Speaking of which, Netflix clearly received our message considering they've made public statements and was one of the first people to download a fresh copy of their own property (Hello, 69.53.235.76!) - yet they continue to remain unresponsive. With this information in mind (and the fact that leaving people on cliffhangers isn't fun) we've decided to release Episodes 1-10 of "Orange Is The New Black" Season 5 after many lengthy discussions at the office where alcohol was present. Do note that there are 13 episodes. However, we were so early when we acquired the copies that post hadn't gotten around to Episodes 11-13. Perhaps Netflix will consider releasing the season earlier now that the cat's out of the bag?

We're not quite done yet, though. We're calling you out: ABC, National Geographic, Fox, IFC, and of course Netflix, still. There's more Netflix on the feasting menu soon (in addition to the other studios, of course), but we'll get to that later. Enjoy the fruits of _our_ labour


It didn't have to be this way, Netflix. You're going to lose a lot more money in all of this than what our modest offer was. We're quite ashamed to breathe the same air as you. We figured a pragmatic business such as yourselves would see and understand the benefits of cooperating with a reasonable and merciful entity like ourselves. And to the others: there's still time to save yourselves. Our offer(s) are still on the table - for now

Your friends
thedarkoverlord
Professional Adversary
World Wide Web, LLC

P.S. Enlightening us in regards to the quality of the so graciously released materials is most futile. If you're not satisfied with our release, you're more than welcome to release your own episodes of "Orange Is The New Black" - Season 5. Reuploads and seeders are welcome

Came across this USA Today article from yesterday about it a bit later:

In the ransom note, The Dark Overlord claimed to have stolen series from other studios, too, by breaking into a single company. The purported hacker promised to also release those titles unless "modest" ransoms are paid.

Rumors of a massive leak of Hollywood films and TV episodes have been circulating online for months, fed by purported screenshots of the footage and a copy of a proposed deal to delete the stolen material in return for tens of thousands of dollars in electronic currency.

When the AP contacted The Dark Overlord in February, the hacker said the purloined video wouldn't be made publicly available after all, making the far-fetched claim that "no one really (cares) about unreleased movies and TV show episodes."

It's not clear what triggered The Dark Overload's renewed ransom demands.

This scares me deeply, I fear the Orange in Chief will do the equivalent of dropping an MOAB on the internet to kill piracy. :|

 

[digitalwanderer]

The best write-up I've found about it so far is at TorrentFreaks, and they claim they gained access through Larson Studios.

 

[Pressure]

This scares me deeply, I fear the Orange in Chief will do the equivalent of dropping an MOAB on the internet to kill piracy. :|

I've always been fascinated how every law seems to be protecting an entity as a corporation or firm in the US but with no regards to actual human beings. Money talks I guess.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I've always been fascinated how every law seems to be protecting an entity as a corporation or firm in the US but with no regards to actual human beings. Money talks I guess.

Because corporations are run by human beings and provide jobs for human beings. Corporations, in most cases, also make life better for human beings. But just like human beings, they can sometimes get out of hand and should be watched. And just like human beings they shouldn't be punished unless they do something bad. Likewise, just like human beings, they should be protected from people or entities trying to do something bad to them.

In regards to media. People can and do lose their jobs if their product underperforms. Acts of theft and malicious intent such as perpetrated by this hacker group increase the likeliness of a product doing badly and thus people losing their jobs. This only impacts a few studios. If the impact was large enough and lasted long enough, there is always a potential of a large company going out of business and thus a great many human beings losing their jobs.

Laws are there to protect the society. Society works best when people are gainfully employed whether for money (capitalism) the communal interests (communism) or some combination thereof. Thus laws are there to not only protect individuals but entities that provide those people with gainful employment.

Speculation about whatever a government agency might do in reaction to something like this just spreads fear and doubt and little else until something actually starts to move within the government in that direction.

Regards,
SB

 

[Malo]

Ransoming a show that will be released in the next month all at once, all episodes? Not really a big deal for Netflix to just release it now anyway.

Ransoming entire new season of GoT? That's a different story.

 

[Davros]

I dont think fox, glen beck or breitbart will run this story so trump wont even know

 

[digitalwanderer]

Well if it's any consolation my fave private torrent site took it down for ethical reasons. Might not mean much in the greater scheme of things, but I respect 'em for it.