FBI Confirms North Korean Government Behind Sony Hacking & Threat

CNN reports that today, the FBI confirmed that North Korea was indeed behind the cyber attacks on Sony Pictures, tied to the release of the controversial film THE INTERVIEW.

The FBI revealed in a statement:

"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.

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,' the FBI said in the brief statement.

"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.'

"North Korea's actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a U.S. business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves,' the FBI said. "Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior.'

Earlier today BWW reported that Sony has received a second threat warning the studio not to release the controversial film THE INTERVIEWon VOD or elsewhere. Read the article in full here.

THE INTERVIEW follows Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show "Skylark Tonight." When they discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the two least-qualified men imaginable, to assassinate Kim Jong-un.