Hackers hit Sundance Film Festival

By Brinke Guthrie Published January 22, 2017

The Sundance Film Festival, the annual independent movie showcase in Park City, Utah, was hit by hackers on Saturday. The box office was targeted, which prompted an indignant festival response via Twitter:

We have been subject to a cyberattack that has shut down our box office. Our artist’s voices will be heard and the show will go on.

— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) January 21, 2017

According to The Verge, a statement on the site, which has since been removed, read, “Sundance Film Festival has been subject to a cyberattack, causing network outages that has shut down our box office. No further information about the attack is available at this time, but our team is working hard to get our system back up and running as soon as possible.”

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Following the cyberattack, our team is working hard to get our systems back up asap. Screenings will take place as planned. #Sundance

— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) January 21, 2017

The IT guys got things fixed up in no time:

Update: The Salt Lake City Box Office is back up and running. #SLC #Sundance

— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) January 21, 2017

So far, no person or group has admitted being the culprit for the box office hack. IndieWire says the hack attack “came on the day of several big premieres at the fest, including Mudbound, Step, The Hero, The Yellow Birds and Chasing Coral.

Variety also reports “The cyberattack occurred shortly after Chelsea Handler led a Women’s March in Park City to protest the election of Donald Trump, at around noon MT. Roughly 40 minutes later, online ticketing for future shows had been restored. It’s unclear if the attack was related to crowds in Park City, holding empowerment signs and speaking out against Trump.”

The brief attack didn’t seem to have any effect on the festival or its schedule, other than a pesky, minor inconvenience. The Sundance Film Festival dates back to 1978 and was founded by Robert Redford. It runs through January 29.

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