We reported last week that Sony Pictures had been hit with a massive cyberattack which left its computer systems compromised and might even have resulted in some data being stolen. The hackers had posted their demands as well one of which was “equality,” which implied that perhaps there was inside help involved. Sony Pictures is now reportedly investigating possible links of that attack with North Korea.
According to Re/code, Sony Pictures is looking into the possibility that the hackers were working on behalf of North Korea, “perhaps operating out of China.”
The reason why North Korea might want to do something like this is because Sony Pictures has a comedy film coming up called The Interview, in which two journalists tapped by the CIA are sent to assassinate Kim Jong-Un, the leader of North Korea. The journalists are played by James Franco and Seth Rogen.
North Korea has already registered a strong reaction against this film, it went so far as to call it an “act of war,” and even threatened a “resolute and merciless response” if Sony Pictures released the film. There were subsequent rumors that the film had been digitally altered during post production to remove military insignia that belonged to the North Korean military, even though the main plot remained the same.
The Interview is on track for release in the U.S. on December 25th.
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