HBO was the target of cyberattacks this morning. The cable television station reported that some of its scripts were hacked and spread around the internet. The company’s hit show ‘Game of Thrones’ was the subject of those attacks. The cyber theft included an unaired script of the hit show, though HBO has declined to comment on which episode was stolen.

What Was Taken

According to some online Internet reports, hackers stole various episodes of the sports agent fictitious show Ballers in addition to some Game of Thrones scripts. Some reports note that the scripts and episodes have been spread throughout the internet, though those sources have not said where they were spread or which episodes were shared.

Why It Was Stolen

Cyber attacks are happening now more than ever before. These attacks happen for a number of reasons, but usually networks are left vulnerable to attacks. When networks are not secure or when updates are not generated, hackers tend to attack. In the case of HBO, it’s possible that the hack came from the inside, though no source has confirmed this yet.

The Aftermath

HBO makes millions of dollars off of both Games of Thrones and Ballers. With some episodes already streaming ahead of planned release dates, the company might be losing out on a fair bit of money. Most companies have a plan in place in case a cyber attack happens (or they should, at least), and hopefully this is the case with HBO.

The company has told press that the hacks are currently being investigated by law enforcement agencies, though the exact agency on the case was not specified. Presumably, HBO has its own team of specialists on the hacks as well. Companies like HBO that are targeted by hackers need to pinpoint the exact point of attack in order to prevent future hacks from happening.

What This Means to You

If you are a fan of Game of Thrones or Ballers, you may be worried that HBO won’t air those episodes that were stolen. However, the company has not issued any kind of warning or interruption of series announcement. In other words, things should go on as scheduled.

Hackers have not issued a reason why the scripts and shows were stolen and spread across the internet, but often the cause has something to do with not paying for this kind of content.

HBO can only be accessed through subscription cable internet plans. In fact, HBO is one of the few companies that still manages to snag a ton of subscriptions. To some people, content like this should be free to all and not just to those that can afford it. What’s not often thought of, though, is that HBO spends billions of dollars per episode on a show like Game of Thrones, so the company does need to generate income in order to keep that show going.

As of this writing, HBO has not said anything additional about the hacks. Game of Thrones is set to air next Sunday and the company does plan to keep with regularly scheduled programming.