Game of Thrones leak traced to Prime Focus Technologies

Cyber Cell traced leak to Bengaluru office of PFT, and has suspected employees in police custody

The leak of the fourth episode of the ongoing season of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones has been traced to Prime Focus Technologies, the agency contracted by Star India Private Limited to manage the data, after an investigation carried out by the officers of Cyber & PAW, Government of Maharashtra. The episode in question was leaked two days before its telecast and carried Star India’s watermark on it.

Game of Thrones is streamed on Star India’s over the top (OTT) platform Hotstar minutes after the American telecast. Star India Private Limited and Novi Digital Private Limited gave a complaint to the office of special IGP (cyber), Government of Maharashtra, Brijesh Singh and office of DCP Cyber Cell, informing that an episode (season 7, episode 4) of Game of Thrones – an HBO adaptation of a fantasy novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire authored by George R. R. Martin, which was scheduled to be aired for viewing in USA and India on August 7 at 0730 hours (local time), was leaked and made available for viewing on the internet by some persons.

Novi Digital is the wholly owned subsidiary of Star India that houses Hotstar.

On receiving the complaint, the authorities conducted preliminary enquiry and basis the electronic trail and other technical material, zeroed in on Prime Focus Technologies, as being responsible for the illegal leakage of the episode. The material collected by the Department, together with the opinion, was sent to the office of DCP (Cyber), BKC, Mumbai for further investigation and necessary penal action in accordance with law. Prime Focus Technologies is a company that provides data transfer and storage facilities to broadcasters.

Star India said, “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. 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.”

Consequently, Prime Focus Technologies voluntarily accepted that the leakage had happened at its end, lodged a complaint (FIR) against one of its serving employee and alleging that he along with another former employee and other persons unauthorizedly gained access to the episode and thereafter illegally leaked the same for viewing by the general public over the internet.

A joint team from the office of Cyber & PAW, Government of Maharashtra and the office of DCP (Cyber), BKC, Mumbai went to the Bangalore office of Prime Focus Technologies from where the leakage was found to have occurred and carried out interrogation of the employees throughout the night on August 11. The investigation revealed complicity and involvement of more persons than those specifically named in the FIR, particularly the ones working in the office and otherwise lawfully having access to the raw data of the series.

In a statement released to the press, the office of the special IGP said, “The information and material collected at the Bangalore office and the Mumbai Police station was collated, studied and analysed by the police. On being satisfied that the material collected by the investigating agency sufficiently established the role and involvement of various persons – both, existing and former employees as well as outsiders -- arrest of 04 persons was affected on August 14. All the accused persons were produced before the court of Magistrate. A prayer was made for their custodial interrogation and the court has been pleased to send the accused persons to police custody for 7 days, i.e., till August 21. The police are still continuing with the investigation.”