Disney's upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean sequel may have been plundered by hackers, who are reportedly holding demanding the film studio pay a ransom in return for not releasing the movie early.

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US news organisations are reporting that cyber criminals have stolen an upcoming Disney movie, and are threatening to release it unless their demands are met.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney CEO Bob Iger told a meeting of ABC employees that hackers have warned they have accessed the film. They say they will release it online bit by bit unless a ransom is paid in bitcoin.

While Iger did not name the film, Deadline reports that the movie in question is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Johnny Depp is not due to make his return as Captain Jack Sparrow until 25th May.

Iger said Disney had refused to meet the hackers' demands and was working with federal investigators in the US.

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Ransomware shut down huge chunks of the NHS as part of a global cyber attack last weekend.

Cyber criminals have also recently recently targeted Netflix, following through on a threat to pirate the fifth season of Orange is the New Black and uploading it to Pirate Bay when the streaming giant refused to pay a ransom.

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And back in 2014, Sony Pictures had its emails hacked in retaliation for releasing The Interview, a comedy movie poking fun at North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un.

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