North Korea allegedly hacked Sony Pictures over geopolitical satire film

A recent hack hit Sony Pictures at the end of November, disabling its corporate infrastructure and leaking at least five of the company’s unreleased films. The attack prevented employees from using their computers and replaced their screens with the phrase “Hacked by #GOP” and the image of a skull. GOP, short for Guardians of Peace, reportedly threatened to “release ‘secrets and top secrets’ of the company”— referring to Sony’s financial data as well as the personal data of actors attached to Sony Films.

The FBI, together with the IT forensics firm FireEye, whom Sony hired, is currently investigating the breach, although but no official announcement has been made regarding the outcome. Meanwhile, evidence scraped together by independent researchers alleges that the hermit kingdom of North Korea is responsible. One reason put forth by the magazine Variety suggests that the takedown may have been prompted by the network’s upcoming film called “The Interview” about a late night talk show host (played by James Franco), who, along with his producer (played by Seth Rogen), were recruited by the CIA to assassinate King Jong-un during an interview. 

Motive can be drawn from North Korea’s angry response to the film’s proposal, calling it “the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as a war action,” and that a “merciless response” would ensue if the film is not cancelled, stated by North Korea’s U.N. envoy Ja Song-Nam. On the other hand, another North Korean diplomat — who chose to remain anonymous — spoke to the Voice of America in a dismissive manner, stating that “linking [North Korea] to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country.” Later on, a separate North Korean official cryptically responded with “wait and see,” when pressed on the subject.

Expert are suggesting that Pyongyang’s cyberespionage should not be taken lightly, highlighting the similarity between the malicious code used to attack Sony and the one that hit South Korea last year in an incident known as “Dark Seoul,” which the South Korean government believed — but could not prove — was carried out by North Korea. An earlier report by Al-Jazeera reciprocates the opinion, revealing that North Korean defectors had alleged that promising students (from North Korea) are sent to China and Russia to sharpen their hacking skills. Likewise, a U.S. analyst quoted a North Korean defector in 2009 claiming to have been a member of North Korea’s Unit 121 hacking squad prior to his escape; he stated that the isolated nation often operated out of a Pyongyang-owned hotel in Shenyang, China.

Nevertheless, the situation remains speculative until more concrete evidence can be determined; however, it’s worth repeating an observation made by the BBC : hacking a major corporation to make threatening demands is not North Korea’s style and the hashtag #GOP (used in the attack) bears no links to Pyongyang.

Source: NPR , BBC , VOA , The Guardia n