Yahoo Finance Alleged HBO hacker who leaked 'Game Of Thrones' scripts identified
HBO might not be falling, but the mask protecting the identify of a hacker going by the name of Mr. Smith appears to be.
Government officials released a complaint which purportedly identifies the individual behind the massive hack of the entertainment company that played out in leak after leak this year. Taunting HBO executives and demanding approximately $6.5 million in Bitcoin as a ransom, the hacker released unaired show episodes and actor contract details as the company tried and failed to limit the fallout.
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It turns out, however, that HBO might have the last laugh. But only maybe. That's because the individual named, Behzad Mesri, is an Iran-based hacker who has allegedly worked on behalf of the Iranian government to break into computer systems around the world.
"At certain times, MESRI was a member of an Iran-based hacking group called the Turk Black Hat Security team," reads a copy of the complaint uploaded by The Daily Beast. "As a member of that group, MESRI conducted hundreds of website defacements using the online hacker pseudonym 'Skote Vahshat' against websites in the United States and elsewhere around the world."
According to the document, Mesri's attempt to break into HBO network began around May and lasted through approximately August of 2017. During that time, he allegedly emailed employees of the company both to mock them and threaten them with the release of personal information.
Image: fbi
According to the FBI, Mesri has been charged with multiple counts of computer fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and interstate transmission of an extortionate communication.
The question remains, though, if Mesri will ever face trail. He is currently listed as "wanted" by the FBI, which means, of course, that he is not in custody. We can only guess that he will not be rushing to turn himself in, and if his alleged past work with the Iranian government is true, we don't think the authorities there will be to eager to see him in a U.S. courtroom.
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