NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger said hackers claim to have stolen an unreleased film and are threatening to distribute it online if they are not paid a ransom.

The company is declining to do so.

Mr Iger made the comments on Monday in a town-hall meeting with ABC staff before the network's fall season presentation to advertisers on Tuesday in New York.

A Disney spokesman declined to comment on the threat.

The alleged extortion attempt adds to a string of cybercrimes rattling industries from financial services to healthcare. Last week, cyberattackers infected more than 200,000 computers around the world with so-called ransomware.

The threat received by Disney is similar to one encountered last month by Netflix in which hackers stole unreleased episodes of the company's hit Orange Is The New Black.

Netflix declined to pay any ransom and the shows were leaked online.