MANILA, Philippines – The US Department of Justice on Tuesday, November 21, charged an Iranian national for a cyber attack and extortion scheme against HBO.
The hacker, Behzad Mesri, also known as “Skote Vahshat,” was involved "in a scheme to obtain unauthorized access to the computer systems of Home Box Office, Inc. (“HBO”), steal proprietary data from those systems, and obtain $6 million worth of Bitcoin from HBO through extortion by threatening to disseminate stolen content."
Mesri also leaked confidential information, which included Game of Thrones spoilers, video files from popular HBO shows like Ballers and Curb your Enthusiasm, cast and crew contact lists, emails of an HBO employee, financial documents, and online credentials for HBO's social media accounts.
According to the indictment, Mesri "is an Iran-based computer hacker who had previously worked on behalf of the Iranian military to conduct computer network attacks that targeted military systems, nuclear software systems, and Israeli infrastructure." He was also, at times, part of the Turk Black Hat security team, which did website defacement against the US and elsewhere.
Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon H. Kim explained, "Mesri now stands charged with federal crimes, and although not arrested today, he will forever have to look over his shoulder until he is made to face justice."
Kim added, "For hackers who test our resolve in protecting our intellectual property – even those hiding behind keyboards in countries far away – eventually, winter will come.” – Rappler.com