A man from the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim was arrested on Monday for hacking into HBO servers and leaking the highly anticipated final episode of the hit series “House of the Dragon.”
The arrest followed an extensive months-long undercover investigation by the Israel Police’s cyber unit.
“House of the Dragon” is a prequel to the iconic “Game of Thrones” saga.
The investigation was initiated after HBO lodged a complaint regarding a suspected breach into the satellite company’s servers. The hacker had illicitly obtained the confidential season finale episode and distributed it to pirate websites. The episode was apparently leaked two days before the season finale, which aired in October.
The suspect’s residence was searched, resulting in the seizure of digital storage devices and computers. All the evidence collected during the investigation will now be presented to the prosecutor’s office for evaluation and a decision on possible charges.
According to the police, an anonymous user on one of the social-media sites, as well as a particular file were both named “Bird,” which later turned out to be the name of the suspect’s cat.
Despite the leak, 9.3 million viewers watched the episode, according to HBO.
Entertainment industry reports suggest that the second season will air in 2024.