Hackers demand $6 million in Bitcoin for Game of Thrones spoilers

The anonymity of Bitcoin, a blockchain-backed cryptocurrency, has become an effective tool for some criminal organizations to operate covertly.

For example, the Italian Mafia used Bitcoin to launder money for its illegal activities, and the WannaCry attackers extorted $140,000 worth of Bitcoin from their malware victims.

Now, an anonymous group of hackers is demanding that HBO pay millions of dollars in Bitcoin or else it will leak secret information about the hit series "Game of Thrones."

The hacker reportedly sent a five-minute video to HBO CEO Richard Plepler under the name Mr. Smith and demanded a ransom.

The hackers said they spent six months hacking into HBO's network to gain access to the draft script and emails between HBO executives.

They demanded that HBO "pay their six-month salary in the form of Bitcoin" and said that they usually earn $12 million to $15 million from similar attacks each year, so the hackers implied that the ransom amount should be between 600万到750万美元.

The hacker's video came after British model Chloe Ayling told reporters she had been kidnapped and auctioned on the black market for $300,000 in bitcoin.

Because transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain network are decentralized and anonymous, the cryptocurrency allows criminals to operate without oversight by government agencies.

While Bitcoin has repeatedly made headlines for this reason, it is safe to say that the use of cryptocurrencies in criminal activities is very low.

Ross Wilson of bitcoin exchange CoinCorner noted in an email:

If you look at recent reports from organizations like the Council of the European Union, you’ll see that organized crime involving Bitcoin is actually much less common than you might think.

The report, published in June, said cases involving organized crime and cryptocurrencies were “quite rare.”