Aug 2, 2017

HBO tells employees email safe after massive hack

Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

HBO CEO Richard Plepler told staff Wednesday that he didn't believe that their email system — which had reportedly been the vehicle for a hack earlier this week — was "as a whole" compromised, but that "the forensic review is ongoing," according to Variety. Plepler notified employees in response to reports the day before that 1.5 terabytes of HBO internal documents, including personal information about employees and at least one 'Game of Thrones' script, had been hacked.

Why it matters: From a security perspective, even if the company finds that employees' emails are safe, sensitive information like health records and financial information has still reportedly been leaked. From a financial perspective, HBO continues to have problems with people illegally obtaining their content. (For example, a single episode of Game of Thrones has been downloaded illegally 90 million times, according to piracy analysis company MUSO.)

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