Following a hack that resulted in online leaks of major films such as Fury, Mr Turner and the forthcoming Annie remake, the FBI is aiding Sony Pictures in investigating the perpetrators – possibly a group operating on behalf of North Korea.
“The targeting of public and private sector computer networks remains a significant threat, and the FBI will continue to identify, pursue and defeat individuals and groups who pose a threat in cyberspace,” said the bureau in a statement. Sony has also hired private security firm FireEye to investigate the hack.
The hackers are dubbing themselves #GOP, or Guardians of Peace, and threatened to leak Sony’s “secrets and top secrets”. Tech site recode.net has written that it could be the work of Chinese hackers working on behalf of North Korea, while anonymous sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal said that the tools used in the hacks were “very similar” to those used against South Korean TV stations last year, in attacks blamed on North Korea.
As well as the leaks and hacks of Sony Twitter accounts, a spreadsheet purporting to show the salaries of top execs was posted online. The company was also left without email and other internal systems, which have since recovered.
It’s been mooted that the attacks could be in retaliation against The Interview, a forthcoming comedy from Seth Rogen and James Franco about an assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un by the US. The film has been strongly condemned by North Korea’s UN ambassador Ja Song Nam, who called it “the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war”.
