Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
The FBI has not connected the North Korean government to a cyber-attack that crippled Sony Pictures Entertainment computer systems, an official said Tuesday.
“There is no attribution to North Korea at this point,” said Joe Demarest, assistant director with the agency’s cyber division. Demarest made the brief remarks at a panel regarding cybersecurity in Washington sponsored by Bloomberg Government.
“So there’s no discussion of confirmation by government,” he added.
The Nov. 24 attack locked employees out of the studio’s system. While Sony has not disclosed the full scale of the breach, company officials have called it “unprecedented” in statements.
Soon after the attack, several Sony films that have not yet been released were leaked onto the Internet, including the musical “Annie” most likely stolen from Sony’s system.
Focus immediately turned to North Korea where the government has been fuming for months about Sony’s comedy “The Interview,” which depicts a fictional assassination attempt on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
A previously unknown group calling itself Guardians of Peace claimed immediate responsibility for the hack. The attack was a retaliation for “The Interview,” according to a post Monday on the website GitHub from a user claiming to represent the group.
"Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the war," the message read.
Diplomats from Pyongyang have issued conflicting statements that could be taken straight out of a bad Hollywood script.
While denying responsibility, a spokesperson for the North Korean government said in a statement, “the hacking into the Sony Pictures might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers with the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] in response to its appeal.”
In spite of the threats, “The Interview” opens Dec. 25 in theaters.
www.aa.com.tr/en
