HBO Offered Hackers $250,000 As A “Bug Bounty Reward”, Hackers Rejected

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If you haven’t been living under a rock, you must be knowing about the ongoing HBO hack and Got leak. As it turns out, HBO bosses tried to pay off the hackers and stop them from leaking unreleased Game of Thrones Season 7 episodes, script, employee emails, and cast contact information.

As reported by Variety, the hackers have sent them a screenshot of an email which was sent by HBO with a “bug bounty payment” offer worth $250,000.

The language of HBO executive is worth noting here, who tried to avoid framing the email as a compromise offer. Instead, it was offered as a reward to a white hat hacker for finding flaws in HBO’s system.

“As a show of good faith on our side, we are willing to commit to making a bug bounty payment of $250,000 to you as soon as we can establish the necessary account and acquire Bitcoin,” the executive said.

As per the email, the network analyzed the material since July 23 and requested the hackers to extend the deadline for one week.

If we take into account the demand of “six months salary” made in the video letter by hackers, the sum of $250,000 is pretty less. To put things into context, let me tell you that the hackers claimed to make $12 million to $15 million per year.

Complete Game of Thrones leak and HBO hack coverage!

Also Read: Student Creates Computer Algorithm To Predict Who Will Die Next In Game Of Thrones
Adarsh Verma

Adarsh Verma

Fossbytes co-founder and an aspiring entrepreneur who keeps a close eye on open source, tech giants, and security. Get in touch with him by sending an email — [email protected]
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