Hacker leaks ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ other HBO series episodes

LOS ANGELES — The weeks-long standoff between HBO and a hacker intent on extracting money from the Time Warner-owned cable network intensified Sunday with the leak of several episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” as well as other series.

The Larry David-fronted comedy series wasn’t scheduled to return to TV until October. But in a statement issued Sunday after the hacker’s dumping, the network did not indicate it would yield to pressure tactics.

Among other series leaked by the hacker included the latest episode of HBO comedy “Insecure,” which was to have premiered tonight. Episodes of a series already airing a new season, “Ballers,” as well as new series that have yet to air a single episode, including “Barry” and “The Deuce” were also distributed.

“We are not in communication with the hacker and we’re not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released,” the network said in a statement. “It has been widely reported that there was a cyber incident at HBO. The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. That’s a game we’re not going to participate in. Obviously, no company wants their proprietary information stolen and released on the internet. Transparency with our employees, partners, and the creative talent that works with us has been our focus throughout this incident and will remain our focus as we move forward. This incident has not deterred us from ensuring HBO continues to do what we do best.”

The hacker or hacking group, which has remained anonymous, has been relentlessly stepping up the intensity of its attack. Last Thursday, a message HBO had sent the perpetrator after its initial communication with the network was leaked, detailing a $250,000 “bounty payment” offer.

Two days prior, it became evident that a previous leak in which the hacker suggested the disclosure of a contact list belonging to HBO CEO Richard Plepler was apparently manipulated. While so far the depth of the hacked material does not appear to have reached the scale of the one that devastated Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, there have been some disclosures suggesting the hacker is in possession of some internal HBO documents.