Entertainment and media giant The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has become the latest target for hackers after threatened to release one of its upcoming movies unless it paid a ransom.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger allegedly told employees about the demand in a meeting on Monday.
Long-term boss Iger didn’t name the film, but reports suggest it could be Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is due out in US cinemas on May 26.
It is the latest cyber-attack on businesses following the “Wannacry” computer virus which infected thousands of machines last weekend, including some of those owned by the UK’s National Healthcare Service.
Disney refusing to pay
Mr Iger is said to have told the employees at the town hall meeting that Disney is refusing to pay, and that it is working with the authorities to identify the attacker.
He added that hackers have demanded the ransom in bitcoin and that the hacker would release the film online in a series of 20-minute chunks unless it is paid.
Disney isn’t the first film studio to be targeted by cyber criminals.
Only last month, a group of hackers uploaded the fifth season of Orange is the New Black to the internet after Netflix refused to pay a ransom.
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