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Harry Potter transcript claim doesn't convince

Meddling muggles boast of last book transcript attack

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A hacker posting on a full disclosure email list run by InSecure.org claims to have obtained a copy of a transcript of the forthcoming book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The self-proclaimed hacker - who calls himself Gabriel - claims to have compromised the PCs of one or more workers at Bloomsbury Publishing, the publisher of the Harry Potter books, by tricking them into visiting a hacker-run website infected with malicious code. Workers who visited the site supposedly became infected with a Trojan which allowed the unnamed cracker to extract a draft copy of the highly anticipated final installment of the Harry Potter series, due out on 21 July.

The claims are unsubstantiated by secondary sources and carry with them the whiff of hackers bragging about their cool skillz rather than authenticity.

Also the supposed motive - revealing the ending to make reading the book "useless and boring" and so prevent youngsters from exposure to "neo-paganism", is a little hard to swallow.

Responses to the post (titled Harry Potter 0day) on the email list has been dismissive. "Who are you people and why should I care? Maybe a new exploit would be more useful," said one unwhelmed punter. ®

Bootnote

The posted message claims to expose the names and ways in which two of the characters die, something that has been the subject of much speculation by fans of author J.K.Rowling and the boy wizard. For those not allergic to potential spoilers (of dubious provenance) the post can be found here.

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Latest Comments

Did you really read it?

First - I am a big HP fan. I did read this post from this so called "hacker".

I caught immediately that this was bogus. Are there no other big HP fans out there?

JKR always give hints to the next book. One of the hints for this last book is that 2 (read it two!) people will die. This post from this supposed "haker" has 3 (three!) people kicking the bucket.

This is how I know that this is completely bogus!

JKR has never lied about the hints that she gives us, I don't see that she is going to change at the last second and on the last book.

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I'll just wait for the movie

You get music with a movie

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Waiting

I've never read the books... too popular; I've been watching the films though as they appear on friends netflix subscriptions. not quite the same I know but they hardly ever mention linux in the entire 3 plot lines I've seen.

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