As a result of a combined operation by Cyber & PAW, Government of Maharashtra and the office of DCP (Cyber), Mumbai, four people have been arrested for allegedly leaking unaired Game of Thrones Season 7 episode. For those who don’t know, GOT S7E4, named The Spoils of War, was set to air in India on Star World on August 7. Prior to that, the episode got leaked on August 4th.
The leaked episode was a low-quality stream with “For Internal Viewing Only” and “Star India Pvt. Ltd.” watermarks. Later, Star India confirmed the leak and said that an investigation was already undergoing to uncover the truth.
Just in case you’re wondering about the real facilitators of the leak, it was revealed that a partner technology vendor of Star India, Prime Focus Technologies, was responsible. The four arrested employees belong to the same company. The police has produced all the accused(s) before the court of the magistrate, and they’ve been already sent to 7 days police custody.
Prime Focus Technologies works with major media companies and helps clients “reduce cost and realize new monetization opportunities.”
“We are extremely delighted with the speed and rigour with which the Office of the Special Inspector General of Police Mr. Brijesh Singh (Cyber), Government of Maharashtra and office of DCP Cyber Cell, Mumbai have moved on this investigation,” Star India said in a statement.
The security of unaired episodes of Game of Thrones Season 7 is turning out to be a nightmare for HBO executives. However, it hasn’t affected the ratings of the show. Let’s hope that HBO manages to steer itself away from such fiascos in near future.
