HBO gets hacked, upcoming 'Game of Thrones' episode info leaked

The leaks are coming!

HBO — the network that turned George R.R. Martin's legendary book series into your Sunday night television obsession — has been hacked, and according to Entertainment Weekly, several upcoming episodes of television series and at least one script have been obtained by the cyber attackers.

Included in the 1.5 terabytes of data acquired is an upcoming episode of Ballers and Room 104 and a script that's reportedly of the next Game of Thrones episode (Season 7, episode 4.) The items have already been posted online and more footage is promised to be "coming soon."

“HBO recently experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the compromise of proprietary information,” the network confirmed to Mashable. "We immediately began investigating the incident and are working with law enforcement and outside cybersecurity firms. Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the data we hold."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In an email to employees, HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler described the intrusion as "obviously disruptive, unsettling, and disturbing," however he assured everyone that the company's leadership members and tech team were working with outside experts "round the clock" to protect the company from any future cyber attacks.

According to EW, the following anonymous email was sent to many reporters on Sunday night announcing the hack:

"Hi to all mankind. The greatest leak of cyber space era is happening. What’s its name? Oh I forget to tell. Its HBO and Game of Thrones……!!!!!! You are lucky to be the first pioneers to witness and download the leak. Enjoy it & spread the words. Whoever spreads well, we will have an interview with him. HBO is falling."

Though it's not yet clear if the hackers obtained video of upcoming Game of Thrones episodes, it wouldn't be the first time the popular show was associated with leaks. During the show's fifth season the first four episodes were leaked online before the show even premiered, resulting in HBO's decision not to send press copies of the episodes in advance.

Dubbed the most pirated television show six years in a row, Game of Thrones is in high demand for hackers, and to show just how many people are pirating the episodes the University of California's Abigail De Kosnik set out to make an epic timelapse.

The Next Web explained that after Season 7 premiered, De Kosnik tracked 72 Game of Thrones-labeled torrents and discovered that out of the "12.2 million viewers the show's premiere attracted in the first five days, 1.77 million came from illegal sources."

To see the data broken down visually check out the timelapse below:

In his email to HBO employees about the leaks Plepler concluded by saying, "The problem before us is unfortunately all too familiar in the world we now find ourselves a part of. As has been the case with any challenge we have ever faced, I have absolutely no doubt that we will navigate our way through this successfully."