Game of Thrones: Alleged Episode Leakers Arrested

One episode, three companies, four arrests.

By Joe Skrebels

Indian police have arrested four people suspected of having leaked episodes of Game of Thrones ahead of airtime.

Series 7, Episode 4, 'Spoils of War'  leaked online earlier this month, with TV network Star India taking responsibility.

The Economic Times now reports that current and former employees of Prime Focus Technologies - an agency that manages data for Star India - as well as other accomplices have been arrested for accessing the episode without authorisation and subsequently releasing it unlawfully.

Prime Focus Technologies accepted that it was the source of the leak, and cooperated with the investigation - other employees of the company not among the arrests have also been named as complicit in the leak, meaning more arrests may follow.

The investigation will continue, while all four of those arrested are currently in police custody.

This incident was unrelated to July's HBO hack, the effects of which are still being seen. Multiple episodes of the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the next episode of Insecure are the latest leaks to emerge from the hackers involved, who are demanding a "bounty payment" from HBO to stop.

HBO, according to a new statement, is standing firm:

“We are not in communication with the hacker and we’re not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released. It has been widely reported that there was a cyber incident at HBO. The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. 

“That’s a game we’re not going to participate in. Obviously, no company wants their proprietary information stolen and released on the internet. Transparency with our employees, partners, and the creative talent that works with us has been our focus throughout this incident and will remain our focus as we move forward. This incident has not deterred us from ensuring HBO continues to do what we do best.”

There is some good news for HBO, however - despite the leak, 'Spoils of War' set a new ratings record for HBO, pulling in 10.2 million viewers, simply for the live airing.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and Prime Focus Technologies definitely sounds like a company that would appear in a Terminator film. Follow him on Twitter.

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