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Topic: HBO is trying to get $250,000 in bitcoin to pay hackers who stole GoT scripts (Read 2367 times)

hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
This is what makes people against bitcoin. HBO could say that they would pay a bounty to the ones who stole the scripts without saying bitcoins. Big guys also think that bitcoin is the best currency for the illegal market, and with this the trend will continue. And if it continues like this, people with bitcoin will all be called as doing illegal activities, because it is not so easy to give proof of funds in bitcoin. This a something that every bitcoin user, developer have to think and provide a way to stop these illegal activities.
You are right, but at the same time we cannot expect the media to play it fair, bitcoin is not giving them a cent unlike banks an politicians so they are going to make it look as if bitcoin is bad even if we know that is not the case, that is something we will have to deal with and overcome it.
full member
Activity: 224
Merit: 100
GOT earned alot of fans already and not just fans, die hard fans, i believe they won't lose anything from just mere scripts spreading. You can clearly see from season 6 ratings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_(season_6) compare to season7 ratings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_(season_7) that they increase 3million views that being said shows that people dig it whatsoever reasons they see.
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
Lmao. Thats crazy, theres gonna be so many more of these ransom hackers looking for bitcoins. I think its a good way to spike the price up  Wink
The reputation of Bitcoin is much more important than the price getting a little bit higher, if any higher at all, because of people buying Bitcoin due to hackers or ransomware.
I don't even think those amounts have any real influence on the price. We're talking about a couple of 1000 BTC bought because of ransomware, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

People also seem to be paying less and less, here are 3 addresses of some fairly popular ransomware virusses:

https://blockchain.info/address/12t9YDPgwueZ9NyMgw519p7AA8isjr6SMw  -- Around 18 BTC
https://blockchain.info/address/13AM4VW2dhxYgXeQepoHkHSQuy6NgaEb94 -- 20 BTC
https://blockchain.info/address/115p7UMMngoj1pMvkpHijcRdfJNXj6LrLn  -- 14.5 BTC

Source: https://qz.com/982993/watch-as-these-bitcoin-wallets-receive-ransomware-payments-from-the-ongoing-cyberattack/
I suppose people are doing what they should have done from the beginning, to backup their information, that way if you get a virus at most you lose a month of information, but if you do not make backups you could lose the information of year or even decades.
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
This is what makes people against bitcoin. HBO could say that they would pay a bounty to the ones who stole the scripts without saying bitcoins. Big guys also think that bitcoin is the best currency for the illegal market, and with this the trend will continue. And if it continues like this, people with bitcoin will all be called as doing illegal activities, because it is not so easy to give proof of funds in bitcoin. This a something that every bitcoin user, developer have to think and provide a way to stop these illegal activities.
legendary
Activity: 1792
Merit: 1283
Lmao. Thats crazy, theres gonna be so many more of these ransom hackers looking for bitcoins. I think its a good way to spike the price up  Wink
The reputation of Bitcoin is much more important than the price getting a little bit higher, if any higher at all, because of people buying Bitcoin due to hackers or ransomware.
I don't even think those amounts have any real influence on the price. We're talking about a couple of 1000 BTC bought because of ransomware, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

People also seem to be paying less and less, here are 3 addresses of some fairly popular ransomware virusses:

https://blockchain.info/address/12t9YDPgwueZ9NyMgw519p7AA8isjr6SMw  -- Around 18 BTC
https://blockchain.info/address/13AM4VW2dhxYgXeQepoHkHSQuy6NgaEb94 -- 20 BTC
https://blockchain.info/address/115p7UMMngoj1pMvkpHijcRdfJNXj6LrLn  -- 14.5 BTC

Source: https://qz.com/982993/watch-as-these-bitcoin-wallets-receive-ransomware-payments-from-the-ongoing-cyberattack/
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
Lmao. Thats crazy, theres gonna be so many more of these ransom hackers looking for bitcoins. I think its a good way to spike the price up  Wink
It is obvious that attacks like these are not going to stop, especially if they get paid, why would they stop? However I disagree with your notion that this can make the price to spike up, all of these hacks and different viruses are bad news for bitcoin since people will keep on thinking that bitcoin is a currency for criminals.
sr. member
Activity: 518
Merit: 251
Hello. Bye.
Lmao. Thats crazy, theres gonna be so many more of these ransom hackers looking for bitcoins. I think its a good way to spike the price up  Wink
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
The hacker finally creates the latest trend on how to get bitcoin, but that is not a way to emulate. I am afraid, if later they start hacking wallet. Is not that scary?
It is scary, but taking into account the amount of money they are asking then unless you have that m amount of bitcoin you have nothing to worry as long as you are a small fish no one is going to target you directly, you just need to worry about viruses and stuff like that.
legendary
Activity: 1442
Merit: 1025
Even if episodes are leaked, people are still paying for HBO's premium service, and will continue to do so because there is no guarantee that future episodes will also be leaked.  And this is irrelevant to people who illegally download episodes anyway, so I doubt it will really affect HBO.  They should patch the security issue and not pay the hackers. 

It's upsetting to me also that bitcoin is once again in the news being associated with criminal activity.  Of course, it's not like fiat currencies are never used for crime, but bitcoin has had one major criminal news story after another for years and people seem to associate it with underground illegal activity.
There is no doubt if HBO will not fill Hackers mouth with a handsome amount of money, they will soon release other episodes also. You see, they don't play around waste their time. HBO has once ignored their threat before but what happened, new episodes were leaked on internet. Got has bring a million dollars loss if you really look deep into the matter. However, I think they won’t release further episodes if the conditions are met.
sr. member
Activity: 602
Merit: 265
The scripts must be very valuable then, it is a kings ransom. I hope they don't pay it, what is the worst that can happen, it maybe possible that HBO isn't saying everything and there is sensitive data among the loot.
sr. member
Activity: 266
Merit: 256
Even if episodes are leaked, people are still paying for HBO's premium service, and will continue to do so because there is no guarantee that future episodes will also be leaked.  And this is irrelevant to people who illegally download episodes anyway, so I doubt it will really affect HBO.  They should patch the security issue and not pay the hackers. 

It's upsetting to me also that bitcoin is once again in the news being associated with criminal activity.  Of course, it's not like fiat currencies are never used for crime, but bitcoin has had one major criminal news story after another for years and people seem to associate it with underground illegal activity.
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
I have seen 2 episodes that were leaked. And I have still watched when they were aired. If the last one was leaked to next week, I will just watch 2 times.
But you are an exception besides how much money HBO is losing from business that may have like to promote their product while game of thrones was airing, I think they lost a lot since the business owners could always make the argument that since the episodes have been leaked then there is going to be less interest in watching the episodes from the average person.
full member
Activity: 140
Merit: 100
The hacker finally creates the latest trend on how to get bitcoin, but that is not a way to emulate. I am afraid, if later they start hacking wallet. Is not that scary?
hero member
Activity: 2646
Merit: 686
Quote
Hackers who stole data from HBO have leaked an email from a company executive showing negotiations over a ransom.
The HBO executive said the company would pay $250,000 in bitcoin as a "bug bounty payment."
Scripts from shows such as "Game of Thrones" were stolen last month.

Read the full article here:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/hbo-hack-game-of-thrones-ransom.html

I can't believe that they're actually willing to pay 250K in Bitcoin just to prevent the scripts from being released.
Even if the scripts were released, I doubt they would lose any fans over it. It's not like that many people would even read it.

Still sad that Bitcoin is being associated with crime again.

HBO has clearly stated that it won't pay a single penny to these persons and so that the hackers can't release their unaired episodes they themselves decided to do that, that's some strategy, right in the face of hackers. While the world looks at Bitcoin as a taboo is shame, cause these guys know, once it comes Bitcoins they can easily circulate this coins and even take Fiat, you guys are horrible for bringing shame to Bitcoin and I hope they do not pay you a single penny.
hero member
Activity: 672
Merit: 526
I have seen 2 episodes that were leaked. And I have still watched when they were aired. If the last one was leaked to next week, I will just watch 2 times.
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
I am pretty sure the hackers are not going to reveal their identities... so let me get this straight... after HBO got hacked, they think giving anonymous hackers $250,000 will stop them from asking for more or selling the scripts elsewhere? Roll Eyes

Sorry, I would not pay a dime and next time increase your cyber security so it doesn't happen again! Tongue
In a way you are right but at the same time they only have that script so they only need to wait until the season is over for the hackers to lose their leverage on them, if I was HBO I will be increasing my security standards as much a possible and will use encryption in every single machine holding information that is so valuable.
hero member
Activity: 700
Merit: 500
I am pretty sure the hackers are not going to reveal their identities... so let me get this straight... after HBO got hacked, they think giving anonymous hackers $250,000 will stop them from asking for more or selling the scripts elsewhere? Roll Eyes

Sorry, I would not pay a dime and next time increase your cyber security so it doesn't happen again! Tongue
hero member
Activity: 1050
Merit: 529
I'm a heavy fan of GOT , when I hear GOT leak, of course a big disappointment arises, if you guys are heavy fans of the GOT just like me, would feel the same, Hbo deserve to do such a thing
I don't really think there is a point of doing it now, firstly the script has already been leaked as far as I know it's very easy to find if you search in right places. But yes its good that HBO are doing this, honestly they don't have another choice even though the leaked script won't probably affect their viewers even the leaked episodes didn't affect it much, but they still need to keep the appearance that they will do anything to avoid such leaks.
full member
Activity: 686
Merit: 146
It's hard decision for HBO to choose to pay ransom. Hackers will reach what they wanted and they can continue to do these bad activities. But anyway, $250 000 is not that big money for HBO, if we look how much they earn from Game of Thrones. And if hacked scripts will be released in public, losses may be much bigger.
And I don't think that this bad publicity can affect bitcoin in negative side. It just means that many bitcoins will move in to bad hands.
And it's serious warning for HBO and other companies to to protect their property better
Yes, it is a sad thing that Bitcoin is being used by the criminals for their illegal activities but we have to consider one thing that the utility of this technology is more than the fiat currencies or any other payment system so it is but obvious that everyone would prefer it over fiat if they are willing to take the benefits of it. There is absolutely zero role of Bitcoin in this crime so blaming it is pointless in my opinion. It's like blaming the internet for stealing money through net banking.

Using bitcoin to pay shows its potential and how useful it can be. But the bad news is that we can't trace it much. I am pretty much sure the hacker is using best ways to hide himself and to hide his digital footprints. Sooner or later he will be caught.

Same thoughts! If this whole thing were true, HBO could have chosen to pay in BTC because hackers may have preferred it since it is not traceable. This may bring a bad association to Bitcoin but "bad publicity is still publicity". It may sound bad that Bitcoin is used in this manner, but it may bring curiosity to the public. In a sense, it will still increase the popularity of Bitcoin. If you were to assess it, it does not necessarily mean that Bitcoin is used in an illegal activity or illegal means. It will just be used by HBO as a payment method, which shows how cool and convenient Bitcoin is!

I'm a GOT fan and I think that despite the leak of the scripts, many will still choose to watch the upcoming episodes especially since I heard that this may be the last series. Perhaps HBO has done this and is willing to pay that huge amount of money just to control the publicity of the show.
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 502
Quote
Hackers who stole data from HBO have leaked an email from a company executive showing negotiations over a ransom.
The HBO executive said the company would pay $250,000 in bitcoin as a "bug bounty payment."
Scripts from shows such as "Game of Thrones" were stolen last month.

Read the full article here:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/hbo-hack-game-of-thrones-ransom.html

I can't believe that they're actually willing to pay 250K in Bitcoin just to prevent the scripts from being released.
Even if the scripts were released, I doubt they would lose any fans over it. It's not like that many people would even read it.

Still sad that Bitcoin is being associated with crime again.
I don't know why they would pay $250,000 in Bitcoin to pay ransom for some scripts that will likely be read a couple times to completion, published and talked about for 3 days, and then forgotten about until their actual episodes come out. At most, there will be spoilers that can come of it, but even that is doubtful and probably won't end up happening in any meaningful manner. People will still subscribe to their channel, they will watch the show, and then probably lose their minds after the series comes to an end, and the books probably won't even be finished before the author dies. Unless he starts to expedite the series and stops taking such a long time writing each novel.
Even if people keep watching the show there are some that may opt for another option, HBO is just a business and they are thinking about maximizing their profits and it is obvious they think these revelations may have an adverse impact on their revenue and that is why they are willing to pay so much.
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