HBO offered $250,000 to hackers in bid to delay data release

HBO last month offered $250,000 to cyber criminals who hacked intoits computer system, asking them to extend a deadline for payinga much larger ransom, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.

"You have the advantage of having surprised us," a member ofHBO's technology team said in the July 27 email. "In the spiritof professional co-operation, we are asking you to extend yourdeadline for one week."

The attack came at a sensitive time for HBO: Parent company TimeWarner Inc. is seeking regulatory approval to sell itself to AT&T Inc.in an $85.4-billion deal announced in October.

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The note said that HBO was willing to make the payment "as a show of good faith," but it needed time to fund an account for sending payments in bitcoin digital currency or obtain accountinformation from the hackers so it could use a conventional bankwire to transmit the funds.

The hackers did not respond to a request for comment throughthe email address they used to communicate with HBO.

Therequestprompted an automated response that provided a link to an imageof the July 27 note from HBO.

A person familiar with HBO's response to the attack toldReuters that the company sent the email "as a stall tactic" and had never intended to make the $250,000 payment or pay the full$6 million the hackers had demanded to hold off going publicwith data stolen from HBO.

Nonetheless, the email failed to achieve that goal. A fewdays after HBO sent the note, the hackers went to the media withdetails of the breach.

They released an extortion note and some stolen data,including details about an upcoming episode of the network's popular drama Game of Thrones.

Varietymagazine earlier reported details about the $250,000 offer.