HBO Offers "Bug Bounty" to 'Game of Thrones' Hackers

HBO has given in to hackers demands and has made an offer towards the $6 to $7 million USD in Bitcoin they’re asking for, but it’s not nearly as much as they’re asking for. Recently, hackers made off with 1.5TB of data from the network’s servers. They demanded HBO pay six months of their salary for the information or else they would release more unaired episodes and scripts as they did with Game of Thrones‘ “The Spoils of War.”

According to CNBC, an email from an HBO IT employee confirms the company is working on making an account to buy and send Bitcoin. The email also states the company offers a “bug bounty payment of $250,000 USD” as a show of good faith. It’s speculated that this offer was a “delay tactic” and that currently, HBO is no longer in contact with the hackers, meaning the company may let them release what they currently possess, especially since the episode broke records, despite the leak. However, the hackers also possess information regarding actor’s home addresses, sensitive emails and details on pending litigation, an issue HBO may not be able to just ignore.