Disney CEO Bob Iger told ABC employees about the situation on Monday but didn't say which film it was, THR reports. The hackers want Disney to pay a "huge sum" in the cryptocurrency bitcoin, or else they will release the film in parts. Iger said Disney wouldn't pay and was working with federal investigators on the matter.
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Hackers are holding a Disney movie for ransom, according to CEO Bob Iger (DIS)
Hackers are holding a Disney movie for ransom, but Disney isn't paying up, according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter.
A second report on Monday, this time from Deadline, said the ransomed movie was the latest installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Disney is set to release "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" on Friday, which would make for some irony if it were indeed the one.
This shouldn't be seen as an idle threat in light of the Netflix incident late last month, in which 10 episodes of "Orange Is the New Black" leaked online after Netflix didn't fork over the demanded cash.
"It didn't have to be this way, Netflix," that hacker, who goes by the alias thedarkoverlord, said in a message at the time. "You're going to lose a lot more money in all of this than what our modest offer was."
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Disney did not respond to a request for comment.
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