This seems to be just the tip of the iceberg

Apr 29, 2017 20:39 GMT  ·  By

Hackers have leaked the entire fifth season of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black show and are threatening to do the same for several other TV shows and movies. 

Hacking group TheDarkOverlord is threatening to make available on the Internet a large number of unreleased TV shows and movies. The group had already proven it had at least some of those in its possession by releasing the first episode of the fifth seasons of Orange Is the New Black. When this didn't seem to be enough, the group leaked the rest of the series too. The episode, along with the rest of those in the series, was supposed to air in June on Netflix.

This isn't necessarily a new development since movies and TV shows leak online often, but this time around we may very well be witnesses to the largest piracy leak in recent times.

According to the description of the Orange Is the New Black file uploaded to The Pirate Bay, the leak is the work of a group called TheDarkOverlord. TorrentFreak reports that the group has been working together since the end of 2016, gaining access to the systems of Larson Studios in Hollywood. This is a company that handles additional dialogue recorded for movies. Since many people who have downloaded the film complain about the quality of the content, it seems like it could very well be true that the leaked shows come from this particular source since the copies they receive are in production, and, therefore, unfinished.

Negotiations are supposedly ongoing between the hackers and Larson Studios

The hackers are allegedly in negotiations with the company over the fate of the content they've taken from them. Releasing all the videos they may have stolen could result in a heavy price to pay for the studio, especially since they could be sued by their clients.

"After we had a copy of their data safely in our possession, we asked that we be paid a small fee in exchange for non-disclosure. We approached them on the Eve of their Christmas," a member of the group told TorrentFreak. The release of the first episode of the next series of Orange Is the New Black indicates a failure in the negotiations, it seems.

The group of hackers demanded 50 bitcoins, plus potential late payment fees, to refrain from leaking the content. Given today's BTC price of $1,364, that puts the fee at close to $70,000.

TheDarkOverlord had sent over to Larson Studios a contract including all the details, which was even signed by the company. The payment, however, was not sent.