Another hack at HBO

Hackers using the name “Mr. Smith” posted a fresh cache of stolen HBO files online Monday, and demanded that HBO pay a ransom of several million dollars to prevent further releases.

The data dump included what appear to be scripts from five “Game of Thrones” episodes, including one upcoming episode, and a month’s worth of emails from the account of Leslie Cohen, HBO’s vice president for film programming. There were also internal documents, including a report of legal claims against the network and job-offer letters to top executives.

HBO, which previously acknowledged the theft of “proprietary information,” said it is continuing to investigate and is working with police and cybersecurity experts. The network said Monday that it still doesn’t believe its e-mail system as a whole has been compromised.

This is the second data dump from the purported hackers. So far the HBO leaks have been limited, falling well short of the chaos inflicted on Sony in 2014. In that attack, hackers unearthed thousands of embarrassing e-mails and released personal information, including salaries and social security numbers, of nearly 50,000 current and former Sony employees.

In a video directed to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, “Mr. Smith” used white text on a black background to threaten further disclosures if HBO doesn’t pay up. To stop the leaks, the purported hackers demanded “our 6 month salary in bitcoin,” which they implied is at least $6 million.