HBO was put into panic mode yesterday when it emerged that hackers had obtained 1.5 terabytes of data which reportedly held upcoming episodes of the channel's TV shows.
The television programmes in question are said to have included Ballers and Room 104 and while there was obviously a great deal of worry that episodes of Game of Thrones have been leaked, so far it's apparently just the script to the next episode. So while you could always act it out with your mates, we'd propose just waiting for the real thing in a few days.
"HBO recently experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the compromise of proprietary information," the network confirmed in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. "We immediately began investigating the incident and are working with law enforcement and outside cyber security firms. Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the data we hold."
HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler sent an email to HBO employees yesterday saying, "As most of you have probably heard by now, there has been a cyber incident directed at the company which has resulted in some stolen proprietary information, including some of our programming," he wrote.
"Any intrusion of this nature is obviously disruptive, unsettling, and disturbing for all of us. I can assure you that senior leadership and our extraordinary technology team, along with outside experts, are working round the clock to protect our collective interests. The efforts across multiple departments have been nothing short of herculean. It is a textbook example of quintessential HBO teamwork. The problem before us is unfortunately all too familiar in the world we now find ourselves a part of. As has been the case with any challenge we have ever faced, I have absolutely no doubt that we will navigate our way through this successfully."
News of the leak originally came on Sunday when an anonymous email was sent to many reporters saying; "Hi to all mankind. The greatest leak of cyber space era is happening. What’s its name? Oh I forget to tell. Its HBO and Game of Thrones……!!!!!! You are lucky to be the first pioneers to witness and download the leak. Enjoy it & spread the words. Whoever spreads well, we will have an interview with him. HBO is falling."
HBO has not commented on which shows were leaked but as we said, so far, it's clear there was no Game of Thrones episodes or the internet would most certainly know by now. Perhaps the hackers are keeping it in their back pocket but we doubt it.
While this is HBO's first cyber attack, this isn't the first time Game of Thrones episodes have been leaked online. The first four episodes of season five were available to download before they aired but that was due to those episodes being released as preview screeners to the press for review purposes. Since then, HBO has stopped this practice - this is why we can't have nice things.
The hacking follows another high profile incident back in April when episodes of season 5 of Orange Is the New Black appeared online ahead of its release, while the biggest media cyber attack was back in 2014 when approximately 100 terabytes of data was uploaded online.
If you're all up to date on Game of Thrones, have a read of our review for this week's episode or watch our after show Night Talkers below.