The Sony Music archive has been infiltrated by cyber-crooks, who have illegally downloaded more than 50,000 digital files.

Record company bosses paid $250 million to Jackson's estate in 2010 for the catalogue, including unheard material from studio sessions when the superstar recorded "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad".

A source tells Britain's Sunday Times, "Everything Sony purchased from the Michael Jackson estate was compromised.

"It caused them to check their systems and they found the breach. There was a degree of sophistication. Sony identified the weakness and plugged the gap."

The haul is also said to include a duet with the late Freddie Mercury and Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am.

The attack was discovered weeks after hackers targeted Sony's PlayStation Network in April, but was only confirmed by a Sony Music representative on Saturday.

source: starpulse