Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) was recently in the eye of the storm after some of their employees, both former and current, were arrested for the leak of Game of Thrones season 7 episode 4. Now, the founder and CEO of PFT Ramki Sankarnarayanan has released an official statement.
Originally scheduled to stream on 7 August, the GOT S7 fourth episode was made available to the viewers three days prior, as a link with a Star India watermark appeared online. PFT immediately initiated forensic investigations to determine the cause. Based on a multi-faceted investigation including extensive logs of their system, a complaint was filed on August 6, 2017, and supplementary information was provided on multiple occasions, culminating in a First Information Report (FIR) being filed with the DCP Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police by Shailesh Manohar, Vice President at PFT on 9 August, 2017. Acting on the information and extensive evidence provided by PFT, the office of DCP Cyber Cell, Mumbai arrested 4 accused on August 14.
In the official statement, Ramki says, “PFT is appreciative of the speed and rigour with which the Special IGP (Cyber), Government of Maharashtra and DCP Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police have moved on this investigation. PFT is working closely with its client and co-operating with the police to take the investigation to its logical conclusion at the earliest and to prosecute the perpetrators of this crime.”
“PFT has been engaged with Star India as one of its key technology partners since 2011. PFT manages 1.5 million hours of content for some of the world’s biggest broadcasters and studios globally. As a technology partner, PFT invests in content integrity and security, makes significant investments to ensure content protection and is ISO 27001 & SOC2 certified”, he adds.
In conclusion, Ramki reaffirms to all its partners to safeguard the content and upholds its policy against content related crimes. He says, “It is important to note that this was not a system hack. It was an illegal breach of obligations by the concerned persons despite of PFT’s continual internal emphasis on protocols of content security and ethical practices. We deeply regret and condemn this incident – and affirm our strong resolve to continue the fight against content related crimes in an effort to make the M&E industry’s content more secure. PFT has always been and remains committed to the highest standards in content security and integrity in managing its clients’ content.”
It was also stated that the incident shouldn’t be confused with the HBO hack that’s being reported.
