Washington: After stealing and releasing 10 episodes of the fifth season of the Netflix series Orange is the New Black a month before its planned premiere, a hacking group now is threatening to release shows by four other networks unless the networks pay a ransom.

The future is being hacked, and there's no certainty where it might end. Hackers can steal an ever-growing number of secrets.

Screenshot of download website PirateBay where the episodes are available.

If they can steal unreleased television shows, could they also spoil the Oscar ceremony by stealing and threatening to reveal the winners ahead of time? How about announcements of Nobel prizes? Or product launches from Apple and Tesla?

People don't want to wait for staged announcements designed for collective suspense. Hackers seek to profit from that desire. For better or worse, they steal – and reveal – the future.