Police nabs four Bengaluru techies in connection with GOT's online leak

An IT company of Andheri which was tasked with storing the data of the show on its server, was reportedly found to be the source of the leak. The company coordinated with cyber police to help nab those employees who made unauthorised access to the company's server.

A still from GOT. Image Source: Instagram

New Delhi: Four Bengaluru IT professionals were arrested by Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Monday on the grounds of leaking the fourth season of the much popular TV series Game Of Thrones before its scheduled airing. The investigation and digital follow up, led to a conclusion that the company which was authorised to store the data related to the show on its server for Hotstar, was the source of the leak. Hotstar which Star India's streaming service, has the rights to air the HBO TV series in India. When the episode was leaked online, the Andheri-based company conducted an internal enquiry to find out that an unauthorised access to its servers has caused the leak. A senior official of the company informed the BKC Cyber police about the unauthorised access to the server from the company's Bengaluru office. Based on the information, police has made the arrests. According to reports, the accused are charged with Sections 408 (Criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and Section 43 (damage to computer, computer system, etc.) and 66 (computer related offences) of the IT Act. It is reported that three of the arrested techies work in the same firm that stored the video on its server, while one was a former employee in the same. After being produced in a local court in, they were remanded in police custody till August 12. The arrested accused have reportedly been identified as Abhishek Ghadiyal, Mohammad Sohail, Bhaskar Joshi and Alok Sharma. The online leak of Spoils of War, the fourth episode of the seventh season of the popular TV series Game Of Thrones, had stirred up the internet. Hotstar's fight against unauthorised airing, downloading and illegal leaks of episodes, has also been in news of late. Hotstar had filed a complaint with the office of Special IGP (Cyber) of Maharashtra government about the early leak of the episode, which was supposed to be aired on august 7. In a statement released on Monday, Star India thanked the police for speedy action and has promised all assistance for further investigation.The police informed that those accused will be further interrogated to reach to the root of the case. Police also appreciated the IT-firm which came forward admitting that the leak had taken place on its end and for furnishing the police with all the required details.