The news coming on the back of the now famous WannaCry ransomware attack indicated that ransom is the new mantra for cyber criminals. According to a report by Deadline, a group of hackers has illegally obtained a copy of Disney’s upcoming Pirates of The Caribbean movie and is now demanding ransom. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth and latest installment in the popular medieval pirate fantasy and is expected to hit theaters later this month. The film stars Johny Depp as Jack Sparrow and will be seen fighting evil Capt. Salazar (Javier Bardem) to escape from the Devil’s Triangle. The film is scheduled to be released on 25th May in Italy and a world release thereafter. The hackers claim that they have obtained a screener print of the movie and will leak it to all the torrent websites including TPB, KickassTorrents, and ExtraTorrent if Disney doesn’t pay up the ransom. A screener version of the movie is often sent to critics, reviews and other people from the studio for their opinions. The hackers are reportedly demanding an exorbitant amount of money via Bitcoin from Disney, which has so far refused to pay the ransom and is working with the FBI to apprehend the culprits. Although Disney CEO Bob Iger did not reveal which movie the ransom hackers claim to have, he did reveal to ABC employees during a town hall meeting in New York on Monday that the incident had occurred. Holding studios for ransom is not a new business. Hackers had similarly held Netflix to ransom for not releasing Orange is the New Black. However, after Netflix refused to pay the ransom, the hackers went on to release the entire season of Orange is the New Black on torrent websites.
