The hacking collective known as The Dark Overlord is claiming that “Hollywood is under attack” after the group’s latest leak of previously unreleased television episodes online earlier this week.
That was part of the message the group wrote to The Hollywood Reporter this week after Monday’s release of eight unaired episodes of the new ABC competition reality series Funderdome, which is hosted by comedian Steve Harvey. The hackers, who previously leaked unreleased episodes of the popular Netflix prison series Orange Is the New Black, told the publication that The Dark Overlord has possession of other Hollywood TV shows and films that it is holding for ransom under the threat of further online leaks.
“Hollywood is under attack, and we’re at the forefront of this most recent offensive,” the pseudonymous hacking collective wrote to The Hollywood Reporter, according to the publication. “We’re not in the business to scare anyone. We’re in the business of earning vast amounts of Internet money.”
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In the message, the group also reportedly claimed to have unreleased series and films from networks such as IFC and National Geographic, which are owned by AMC Networks and 21st Century Fox, respectively. In April, the collective leaked 10 unreleased episodes from the upcoming fifth season of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black on media-sharing website the Pirate Bay, which is the same site hackers used to leak the Funderdome episodes. Netflix, which is officially releasing the full season this Friday, reportedly refused to pay the hacking group’s ransom demands.
Meanwhile, the first episode of Funderdome debuts on ABC this Sunday, June 11, as the Walt Disney-owned network gave no indication this week that the hackers’ leak would affect the premiere plans. Last month, reports surfaced saying that a Disney feature film had been stolen by hackers—supposedly the May release Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales—but CEO Bob Iger publicly stated that there were only threats of a stolen movie.
And, while companies like Netflix and Disney have reportedly refused to pay hackers’ ransom demands, The Hollywood Reporter cites “knowledgeable sources” claiming that various other networks have paid the collective to avoid having material leaked.
The Dark Overlord has also been connected to hacks of U.S. Medical and dental clinics that saw patient records stolen and sold on the black market online.