Apparently, there is no honor among thieves. At least not between the corporate and cyber kind.
This past Monday, it was reported that a group of hackers had infiltrated Disney’s private servers. The hackers were successful, stealing a copy of the yet to be released Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and were holding it for ransom. Well, Disney didn’t pay up and now the film is out on torrent a week ahead of it’s release.
With the film being the fifth and final iteration in the franchise, it’s projected to be a big cash cow for Disney. Which might explain why the hackers requested a very large (but undisclosed) amount for the film to remain unreleased.
The hackers stated that at a time of their choosing, they would release the first five minutes of the film online. After which, they would proceed to release the remainder of the film in twenty minute intervals until Disney coughed up the dough.
Rather than give in, Disney CEO Bob Iger refused to accommodate the cyber criminals now believed to be a group known as TheDarkOverlord. Disney, alternatively, turned the matter over to the FBI and opted out of the hacker’s game.
As a result, the hackers decided to release the full movie at once. Not the first five minutes or twenty minute chunks like they said but the entirety of the film. And as an added bonus, they apparently released a copy of the new Cars film as well. A move so petty you would think the hackers and Disney were ex lovers. While the PB torrent has since been taken down, once something is on the web, it’s there for good.
While Disney has a well known reputation for being jerks when it comes to their property and often fitting the stereotypical corporate ass hat trope, this was a good and justified move for them.
These two films are so popular, releasing them early basically does nothing. The Pirates film is releasing in less than a week and Cars 3 is next month. Unless the hackers have access to millions of dollars in infrastructure to instruct audiences (ages ranging from 10 to 70 plus) on how to properly and easily torrent movies at lightening speed, it’s going to make it’s money back and profit regardless.
Even if they did have enough wear withal to let the masses know, less than two percent of them would even attempt to torrent from fear of viruses, identity theft and the recently popular ransom-ware popping up everywhere.
But most of all, when people pay to go to the movies, they don’t do just to watch the movie first. They pay for the quality and the spectacle that comes with a theater experience that they can share with friends. This is something that, until VR movies take off (don’t hold your breath on that one), can’t be held for ransom. Disney did the smart and honorable thing by not paying.
So if you really want to see Pirates and Cars bad enough or are too cheap to pay $12 for a ticket, search away, but be warned. In today’s web environment, movie piracy is dying for a reason. What starts out as an effort to save a few dollars could cost you a lot more if you don’t know what you are doing.
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