North Korea is happy that Sony has pulled The Interview worldwide. In a new message, the studio is praised for its actions but reminded to hold to their decision.
In a letter obtained by CNN on Friday morning, the hacking group who identifies themselves as the “Guardians of Peace” warn that while the studio’s actions were “very wise,” they must never release the film… ever.
“Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy,” the GOP says to Sony.
Taking things a step further, the GOP (North Korea) told the studio, “And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately.”
The hackers say that “we still have your private and sensitive data” and promise that they will “ensure the security of your data unless you make additional trouble.”
As of this writing Sony’s official YouTube channel has taken down The Interview clips and trailers, but there are still numerous HD copies on other channels. Time will tell if North Korea decides to raise a fuss about every single copy of the trailer that they find online, or if they’ll just let things stay as they are now.
The FBI blames North Korea
Also today, the FBI announced that North Korea was the one behind the attack. “As a result of our investigation, and in close collaboration with other U.S. Government departments and agencies, the FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions,” a FBI statement said.
“While the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information, our conclusion is based, in part, on similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods, and compromised networks.
“We are deeply concerned about the destructive nature of this attack on a private sector entity and the ordinary citizens who worked there.
“Further, North Korea’s attack on SPE (Sony Pictures Entertainment) reaffirms that cyber threats pose one of the gravest national security dangers to the United States.”
The Interview was set to be released on Christmas Day until North Korea threatened 9/11-style attacks on movie theaters (and the surrounding homes) if the film was played. Sony says they have no further plans for the film despite the fact that the FBI said the threats weren’t credible.
Source: CNN
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