Four people have been arrested in relation to the “Game of Thrones” episode leak earlier this month, Agence France-Presse reported Monday.
The leak came days before Season 7′s fourth episode, titled “The Spoils of War,” was scheduled to air on Aug. 6. A watermark on the video file pointed to an HBO distribution partner servicing Southeast Asia called Star India.
“We take this breach very seriously and have immediately initiated forensic investigations at our and the technology partner’s end to swiftly determine the cause,” a Star India spokesperson said in a statement at the time. “This is a grave issue and we are taking appropriate legal remedial action.”
According to AFP, the four people arrested are accused of “criminal breach of trust and computer-related offences,” and will be detained until Aug. 21 pending an investigation. The agency reported that the group “possessed official credentials” at a “Mumbai-based company responsible for storing and processing the TV episodes for an app,” although it did not state the name of the company.
Despite the leak, “The Spoils of War” became the series’ most-watched episode after its scheduled airing, drawing 10.17 million viewers.
HBO confirmed to HuffPost that the “Spoils of War” leak was unrelated to the larger hack against the premium cable provider that was widely reported in late July. However, those hackers have also leaked “Game of Thrones” content, including a script for Season 7′s Episode 5, titled “Eastwatch.” The full extent of the data breach has not yet been confirmed.
Representatives for HBO did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
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