Netflix Show Leaked, Other Studios’ Content Up For Ransom

Even as Netflix and other media companies invest internally in the latest cybersecurity, services at outside entities remain at risk.

A hacker claiming to hold a number of unreleased television shows from major networks like ABC, Fox, National Geographic, IFC and online streaming service Netflix is holding content hostage for ransom.

Already, said The New York Times, the hacker has shared the upcoming season of the Netflix series “Orange Is The New Black,” releasing the content when Netflix didn’t pay up.

“We are aware of the situation,” Netflix said in a statement. “A production vendor used by several major TV studios had its security compromised, and the appropriate law enforcement authorities are involved.”

The likely source of the data breach? A Los Angeles post-production company, Larson Studios, which is a popular choice for mixing for a number of TV and movie studios.

While the breach was known by the FBI since January, the organization reportedly didn’t start notifying the affected media companies until last month.

The release of the Netflix series, which wasn’t due out until June 9, may just be the beginning.

The hacker (or hackers) took to Twitter to send this message to studios: “Oh what fun we’re all going to have. We’re not playing any games anymore.”

These types of cyberattacks on institutions only look to grow in number in the coming years.

Ransomware incidents have risen 50 percent over the last year, according to Verizon, who just recently released the 2017 edition of their Data Breach Investigations Report, detailing the latest trends and information on cybersecurity threats.

While Verizon found the top three industries for data breaches are financial services with 24 percent of the total, health care at 15 percent and the public sector at 12 percent, media and entertainment industries are not immune from the problem as this latest incident shows.