Uber covered up 2016 hack that exposed personal data of 57 million users

Uber has covered up a massive 2016 hack to its system that compromised the personal data of over 57 million users and drivers globally. The ride-hailing service declined to notify affected users and instead paid hackers $100,000 to hush up the hack and delete the data. This is the latest in a string of shady practices from Uber.Bloomberg reported that fired Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was aware of the hack as early as November 2016, just a month after it occurred. Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan, and a key senior deputy to the CSO, have also been removed from the company this week, specifically for their roles in keeping the cyberattack secret.

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HBO hackers demand ransom after leaking some internal data online, including personal numbers & addresses of ‘Game of Thrones’ stars

Sky Atlantic

HBO’s headache over its recent security breach is far from over. The hackers who got into HBO’s system have supposedly released 3.4GB of the reported 1.5TB of data it obtained from the company. While it was discovered that upcoming Game of Thrones episodes don’t look like they’ve been taken, things like scripts for upcoming GoT episodes, technical documents with HBO’s internal network and administrator passwords, and unreleased episodes of Room 104 and Ballers have landed into the hands of the hackers.

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HBO data breach goes beyond ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes, includes internal documents

HBO

In terms of quantity, the recent HBO hack might seem infinitely smaller than the one Sony experienced back in 2014 but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a big deal. We’ve gotten new details about the hack and found that the hackers didn’t just get Game of Thrones episodes and spoilers but they’ve gotten their hands on thousands of internal company documents, too. The hackers first contacted the media claiming that they got some upcoming GoT episodes as well as episodes of shows like Ballers, Insecure, and Room 104. They also supposedly got their hands on Bill Haders’ Barry comedy series, which isn’t expected to air until next year. But in the first information dump, it showed that they also had personal information of a senior HBO executive, including access credentials for online services. The hackers say they’ve gotten 1.5 terabytes of data from the company and they plan to release more information in batches. A formal DMCA takedown notice has already been supplied to Google by security contractors IP Echelon. The move is standard procedure when HBO wants the search giant to take down links to leaked materials.

Source: Variety

Hackers claim to have pirated upcoming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film

Taking cues from its subject matter, it’s been reported that Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has been taken by hackers who are now demanding ransom for it. Disney CEO Bob Iger won’t name the film but Deadline reports it’s this fifth installment of the Pirates series. The hackers are said to be asking for a large sum that must be paid in bitcoin. But Iger says the company is refusing to pay and they’re already working with FBI. The hackers are threatening to release five minutes of the film for the first time and then in 20-minute chunks until their demands are met.

This incident involving Disney isn’t the first high profile hack of a studio. Another hacker uploaded just weeks ago 10 episodes of the upcoming season of Orange is the New Black on The Pirate Bay after Netflix refused to pay.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter