Hackers that tried to extort money Attack.Ransom from Disney by threatening to make public an upcoming movie ahead of its release date appear to have been bluffing , the firm ’ s boss has revealed . Chairman and CEO Bob Iger said the media giant had , to its knowledge , not been hacked . “ We had a threat of a hack Attack.Databreach of a movie being stolen Attack.Databreach . We decided to take it seriously but not react in the manner in which the person who was threatening us had required , ” he told Yahoo Finance . “ We don ’ t believe that it was real and nothing has happened. ” The hackers apparently demanded Attack.Ransom a large payment Attack.Ransom in Bitcoin , and threatened to release five minutes of the stolen film followed by subsequent 20-minute instalments if their demands Attack.Ransom weren ’ t met . Disney likely took the threat seriously given that a similar incident occurred last month when a hacker uploaded the upcoming series of Netflix prison drama Orange is the New Black to The Pirate Bay after the streaming giant refused to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom . In that case , a third-party production vendor used by the studios was to blame , after its security was compromised by the hacker . Iger acknowledged the elevation of cybersecurity to a “ front burner issue. ” “ Technology is an enabler to run our businesses more securely , whether that ’ s protecting our intellectual property or protecting our guests or employees around the world , ” he argued . Unfortunately , many boardrooms don ’ t share Iger ’ s enthusiasm for cybersecurity-related issues . Just 5 % of FTSE 100 companies claim to have a technology expert on the board , despite most of them ( 87 % ) identifying cybersecurity as a major risk to the firm , according to a recent Deloitte report . Yet cybersecurity is something the C-level need to get urgently up to speed with , as increasing numbers are targeted by whalers . Just this month , Barclays CEO Jes Staley was tricked Attack.Phishing into emailing someone pretending to be Attack.Phishing the bank ’ s chairman , John McFarlane .

No one likes to have their company hacked . No one is going to be happy if hackers manage to break into systems and steal Attack.Databreach away their intellectual property . In the case of companies like Disney , having a $ 230 million blockbuster like the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie stolen Attack.Databreach could prove to be very costly if hackers follow through with their threats to seed their pirated copy of the film on torrent sites , disrupting its official release . But imagine how much more galling it would be to give in to the hackers ’ blackmail Attack.Ransom threats and pay a ransom Attack.Ransom for the movie not to be leaked online , only to discover later that the extortionists never had a copy of the film in the first place ? Earlier this month it was widely reported that Walt Disney ’ s CEO Bob Iger had been contacted by hackers who were threatening to release one of the studio ’ s movies onto the internet unless a ransom was paid Attack.Ransom . Iger didn ’ t say what movie the hackers claimed to have stolen Attack.Databreach , but it was widely thought to be the soon to be released “ Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Men Tell No Tales. ” That theory of the hacked movie ’ s identity certainly gained more momentum when it was reported that torrents had been spotted on Pirate Bay claiming to be the blockbuster starring Johnny Depp , Javier Bardem and Geoffrey Rush . However , none of those downloadable torrents were confirmed to contain the “ Pirates of the Caribbean ” movie . And in a video interview with Yahoo Finance , Disney ’ s CEO debunked claims that a movie had ever been stolen Attack.Databreach : “ To our knowledge we were not hacked . We had a threat of a hack Attack.Databreach of a movie being stolen Attack.Databreach . We decided to take it seriously but not react in the manner in which the person who was threatening us had required . We don ’ t believe that it was real and nothing has happened. ” In short , Disney says that it was not accurate that a movie was ever stolen Attack.Databreach , and it refused to pay the ransom demand Attack.Ransom to the extortionists . And that , in itself , may be a lesson for other companies to keep a cool head when they receive an extortion demand Attack.Ransom claiming that intellectual property or sensitive data has been stolen Attack.Databreach by hackers . Obviously all threats should be taken seriously , and you should explore appropriately whether it is possible a security breach has genuinely occurred , review the security of your systems , and inform law enforcement agencies as appropriate . But don ’ t be too quick to pay Attack.Ransom the criminals who are making threats against you . If you can , seek evidence that the hackers have what they claim to have , rather than reaching first for your wallets . It ’ s perfectly possible that some extortionists are simply jumping on the bandwagon of high profile hacks in an attempt to trick you into believing your company is the latest victim . Keep a cool head when your company receives a threat , or else you might find yourself in deep water , swimming with the hungry fishes .

The breach indicates even more capable Asian states are struggling to confront cyber threats . On February 28 , Singapore ’ s defense ministry ( MINDEF ) disclosed that a breach Attack.Databreach in an Internet-connected system earlier this month had resulted in the personal data of 850 national servicemen and employees being stolen Attack.Databreach . Though the impact of the breach was quite limited , it nonetheless highlights the difficulties that Singapore faces as it confronts its growing cyber challenge . According to MINDEF , the I-net system used by personnel to access the Internet through terminals at the ministry and other facilities was breached Attack.Databreach by an attack Attack.Databreach in early February . While personal data , including identification numbers , phone numbers , and date of birth , were believed to have been stolen Attack.Databreach during the incident Attack.Databreach , the ministry said no classified information was compromised Attack.Databreach because it is stored on a separate system not connected to the Internet . As I have noted before , it has been paying keen attention to the cyber domain as a developed , highly-networked country . Singapore is particularly vulnerable as it relies on its reputation for security and stability to serve as a hub for businesses and attract talent . Indeed , last year , Deloitte found that Singapore was among the five Asian countries most vulnerable to cyber attacks ( See : “ Singapore Among Most Vulnerable to Cyberattacks in Asia ” ) . In response , Singapore has unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at boosting cybersecurity , including creating new institutions , safeguarding critical infrastructure , training cyber security personnel , and collaborating more with the private sector ( See : “ Singapore ’ s Cyber War Gets a Boost ” ) . And as I noted before , Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also outlined Singapore ’ s overall cybersecurity strategy at the inaugural Singapore International Cyber Week in October last year ( See : “ Singapore Unveils New ASEAN Cyber Initiative ” ) . Nonetheless , the cyber attack this week is a reminder that even the more capable states in the Asia-Pacific continue to struggle with confronting threats in the cyber realm . This was the first publicly disclosed cyber attack that MINDEF has experienced , and the ministry has described it as “ targeted and carefully planned , ” with the purpose of gaining access to official secrets . And based on what Singaporean officials have discovered so far , the attack appears to be less like the work of regular hackers and more along the lines of sophisticated state or state-backed actors