North Korea suspected of cyber film theft

Sony Pictures Entertainment is investigating to determine if hackers working on behalf of North Korea might be responsible for a cyber attack that knocked out the studio’s computer network and copies of five movies being leaked online.

The attack occurred before the release by Sony of The Interview. The movie is a comedy about two journalists who are recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The North Korean government denounced the film as “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war” in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June.

Representatives of the North Korean mission to the UN could not immediately be reached for comment.

The hacker group calling itself — the Guardians of Peace — allegedly took over Sony’s internal network and threatened to release sensitive corporate data.

Then copies of five of Sony’s movies — Annie, Fury, Still Alice, Mr Turner and To Write Love on Her Arms — appeared online days after the attack despite not being out on release yet.

The hackers also warned they would release “secrets” stolen from the Sony servers.

Sony and security consultants are reportedly investigating the possibility that someone acting on behalf of North Korea, possibly from China, was responsible.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Sony Pictures was investigating every possibility, adding no link to North Korea has been uncovered.

The Interview, scheduled for release in the US on December 25, stars James Franco as the host of a tabloid television show that is enjoyed by Kim, and Seth Rogen as the show’s producer. When they are granted a rare interview with Kim, the CIA wants to turn them into assassins.

Official news agency in isolationist North Korea, KCNA, quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman in June as promising a “merciless counter-measure” if the film is released. The government also wrote to US President Barack Obama asking him to stop it, the Voice of America reported.

Sony told ABC News that the theft of its content “is a criminal matter and we are working closely with law enforcement to address it.”

Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Galloway, features editor, said the movie leaks could cost Sony hundreds of millions of dollars

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