Four arrests connected with the leak of an unaired Game of
Thrones episode have been made in India.
Star India Private Limited, a HBO distribution partner owned
by 21st Century Fox, said on Tuesday that local police had arrested four
workers associated with its technology vendor, Prime Focus Technologies,
apparently in connection the GoT leak.
A stolen episode from the current seventh series of the
hugely popular show leaked online on 4 August, three days before its official
worldwide debut.
“This is the first time in the history of Star India that an
incident of this nature has occurred. We are deeply grateful to the police for
their swift and prompt action,” the media firm said. “We believe that valuable
intellectual property is a critical part of the development of the creative
industry and strict enforcement of the law is essential to protecting it.
“We at Star India & Novi Digital Entertainment Private
Limited stand committed & ready to help the law enforcement agencies with
any technical assistance and help they may require in taking the investigation
to its logical conclusion,” it added.
HBO last month confirmed that it had suffered a cyberattack
that may have compromised a Game of Thrones script and other programming
materials. However, the leak of the fourth episode online was not part of that
hack and related to a separate incident focused on India.
In an earlier statement released in the immediate wake of
the leak, Star India said: “We take this breach very seriously and have
immediately initiated forensic investigations at our and the technology
partner’s end to swiftly determine the cause. This is a grave issue and we are
taking appropriate legal remedial action.”
The Indian Express reports that three of the four people
arrested worked for Prime Focus Technologies, which hosts episodes offered
through Star India’s streaming service Hotstar. The fourth suspect is a former
worker at the firm.
