Hacker Group Won’t Give Up Till “Sony Pictures Collapse to the End”

Ron_ Burgundy_Sony_PicturesAs the legendary Ron Burgundy himself would say, “well that escalated quickly.” Filling this under holy shit, #GOP, the group behind the Sony Pictures hack which devastated the studios computers and has resulted in 5 movies being leaked to file-sharing websites isn’t done with Sony yet. In fact, the group has now upped the ante against SP and released the following statement:

 We won’t give up this attack unless Sony Pictures collapse to the end. 

To make matters worse, there now appears to be a North Korean connection, further complicating the matters. Depending on how all of this goes down, Sony might as well turn it into a movie because this story is starting to have more twist and turns than a Hollywood production. After the jump, the full details, including a lengthier response from the group behind the attack.

While Sony Pictures is still working on getting their computer network up and running at their Culver City campus, authorities and cyber security experts are already hard at work, trying to determine how the hack took place and who exactly is behind it. One theory behind the attack which doesn’t bode well for Sony Pictures is North Korea. That’s because the hack that devastated Sony Pictures computer includes malicious code which was used during the March 2013 attacks on South Korean broadcasters and banks. While no definitive answer was ever had, it’s widely believed that North Korea was behind the attack.

In Sony’s case, the studio is putting out a film called The Interview, starring Seth Rogan and James Franco where the two are plotting to assassinate the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. As you could probably guess, North Korea hasn’t been happy about it and SP has already made some tweaks to the film by removing a scene where Kim Jong-un’s face melts off a la Raiders of the Lost Ark. North Korea’s response to the film has been:

 a film about the assassination of a foreign leader mirrors what the US has done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine 

Here is #GOP on the topic of The Interview:

 Our aim is not at the film The Interview as Sony Pictures suggests. But it is widely reported as if our activity is related to The Interview. This shows how dangerous film The Interview is. The Interview is very dangerous enough to cause a massive hack attack. Sony Pictures produced the film harming the regional peace and security and violating human rights for money. The news with The Interview fully acquaints us with the crimes of Sony Pictures. Like this, their activity is contrary to our philosophy. We struggle to fight against such greed of Sony Pictures. 

Though their message is a tad convoluted, their sentiment about regional security and cryptic references to human rights violations echo the sentiments of North Korea. In Sony’s case, if the North Korean connection pans out, it makes bringing to justice the group behind it a much harder, if not impossible affair as it turns into a full international incident and not a rogue group with an agenda. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Discuss:

Do you think North Korea is truly behind this attack or are the hackers placing false code on purpose to throw investigators off the scent?

[Via WSJ]