Iranian 'Game of Thrones' Hacker Demanded $6 Million Bitcoin Ransom From HBO, Feds Say (thedailybeast.com)

Anonymous readers share a report: The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged an Iranian national with allegedly hacking into HBO, dumping a selection stolen files, and attempting to extort the company by ransoming a treasure trove of the company's content. This summer, hackers released a bevy of internal HBO files, included scripts for Game of Thrones and full, unaired episodes of other shows. Behzad Mesri, aka "Skote Vahshat," at one point worked for the Iranian military to break into military and nuclear systems, as well as Israeli infrastructure, according to the newly released complaint. Under his Vahshat pseudonym, Mesri also defaced hundreds of websites in the U.S. and around the world, the complaint adds. Mesri started his hacking campaign in around May 2017, according to the complaint, probing HBO's systems and employees for weaknesses. Mesri managed to compromise multiple HBO employee accounts as well as other authorized users; from here, he allegedly stole confidential and proprietary information. These included unaired episodes of Ballers, Barry, Room 104, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Deuce, as well as scripts for Game of Thrones. Indeed, the hacker behind the HBO breach publicly dumped much of this material online this summer.

Comments

Mesri isn't currently in US control

[Zontar_Thing_From_Ve]

He seems to still be in Iran so the charges would be because
1) If he ever leaves Iran, Interpol can possibly pick him up if he goes to a country that respects the warrant and deliver him to the USA for trial.
2) It makes a point to Iran that if they want to continue messing with dual nationals and imprisoning them for flimsy reasons, the USA can go after their citizens too.