Hackers Demand Ransom Payment from Disney over Stolen Copy of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’

Hackers have stolen Disney’s upcoming film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and have threatened to release it online unless the studio pays the thieves a hefty ransom, according to reports.

Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed Monday at a town hall meeting with ABC employees in New York City that one of the studio’s upcoming films had been stolen, but did not specify which film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Deadline reported later Monday that the film in question is the studio’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean, the fifth film in the swashbuckling pirates franchise starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

The studio is working with the FBI to identify the source of the hack.

The hackers have reportedly threatened to release portions of the film online until their ransom demand is met. THR reported that the hackers planned to release the first five minutes of the film and then continue on with 20-minute increments until payment is made.

Sources told Deadline that Disney is not currently planning to pay the ransom, though the studio has not yet commented publicly on the situation.

The Disney hack comes as studios and production outfits have dealt with increasing security threats presented by hackers. Even if hacking groups cannot access private files on the server of a major studio like Disney, they can attack post-production outfits or other third-party firms that possess copies of private material and that have weaker security measures than major companies.

In April, a group of hackers calling themselves The Dark Overlord infiltrated Netflix and released all ten episodes of the streaming giant’s hit series Orange is the New Black, after the company refused to meet the group’s ransom demand.

That group also said it possessed stolen copies of other television shows including Celebrity Apprentice and NCIS: Los Angeles.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is due out in theaters May 26.

 

Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum