North Korea Denies Involvement in Sony Hack Attack (Report)

A government official previously teased “wait and see” when asked if North Korea was responsible for the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment

"hacked by #GOP" message found on Sony computers
"hacked by #GOP" message found on Sony computers

North Korea is not taking any credit for the devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment last month, according to media reports.

Despite a spokesman for the communist country previously telling the press to “wait and see” if it was involved in the hack that the studio is still reeling from, Voice of America reports that an unidentified North Korean diplomat in New York said any connection to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is “another fabrication targeting the country.”

“Linking the DPRK to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country,” the spokesman told the outlet. “My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy.”

Sony has not yet responded to TheWrap‘s request for comment, but previously discredited a report that it had decided name North Korea as the source of the attack.

“The investigation continues into this very sophisticated cyberattack. The re/code story is not accurate,” a Sony Pictures Entertainment representative told The Associated Press.

North Korea was a prime suspect in the attack due to its insistence that the studio’s upcoming R-rated release “The Interview” was “an act of war,” and accusing the United States of sponsoring terrorism by allowing the production and distribution of the Seth RogenJames Franco comedy about a plot to assassinate leader Kim Jong Un.

The stars salaries for the film have been released, on top of 3,000 employees’ names, birthdates and social security numbers, as well as the salaries for a number of high-ranking executives, including CEO Michael Lynton and co-Chairman Amy Pascal. Before that, the attack paralyzed the studio’s email, phone system and computers.

“This theft of Sony materials and the release of employee and other information are malicious criminal acts, and we are working closely with law enforcement,” Lynton and Pascal said in a company-wide memo sent to staff earlier this week. “The privacy and security of our employees are of real concern to us, and we are deeply saddened at this concerted effort to do damage to our company, undermine our morale, and discourage us.”

 

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