FBI Director James B. Comey speaks during a news conference in Portland, Ore., in this Oct. 1, 2014 file photo. In a letter ThursdayNov. 6, 2014 to The New York Times, Comey said the agent “portrayed himself as an employee ... more >
By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times - Updated: 12:10 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2014
The FBI said Friday that North Korea is responsible for the cyberattack on Sony Pictures that led the studio to cancel the release of a movie.
Confirming what government officials were saying privately for days, the FBI announced that is months-long investigation concluded that North Korea was behind the attack, based on technical similarities to previous attacks.
A statement from the FBI said investigators found “significant overlap in the infrastructure” used in the Sony hacking and in previous attacks. The agency said there were also similarities in technological tools used in this attack and an a cyberattack in March 2013 against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was blamed on North Korea
The FBI said it will “identify, pursue, and impose costs and consequences on individuals, groups, or nation states who use cyber means to threaten the United States or U.S. interests.” But the statement didn’t specify what actions might come next in this case.
“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 agency said.
“Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior. The FBI takes seriously any attempt – whether through cyber-enabled means, threats of violence, or otherwise – to undermine the economic and social prosperity of our citizens.”
The hacking resulted in the theft of tens of millions of computer files, emails and personal data from Sony and its employees, by a shadowy group calling itself “Guardians of Peace.”
The group threatened 9/11-style violence against any movie theaters that would show the film “The Interview,” a Sony comedy about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jung Un starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.
Sony executives decided this week to cancel the film’s scheduled release on Christmas Day, drawing an outcry of protest from Hollywood celebrities and free-speech advocates.
President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. The president claimed an array of successes in 2014, citing lower unemployment, a rising number of ... more >By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times - Friday, December 19, 2014
President Obama said Friday that the U.S. will retaliate against North Korea for its cyberattack against Sony Pictures, and he thinks the movie studio “made a mistake” by canceling the release of a movie in response to the hacking.
“They caused a lot of damage, and we will respond,” Mr. Obama said of the North Koreans at a White House news conference. “We will respond in a place and time and manner that we choose.”
Mr. Obama also said he disagreed with the studio’s move to cancel the release of the flick.
“I wish they’d spoken to me first,” Mr. Obama said. “I’d told them do not get into a pattern in which you’re intimidated by these kinds of attacks.”
Mr. Obama compared the situation to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and said America doesn’t give in to terrorism.
The president said he is “sympathetic” to Sony’s concerns about the potential threat to its employees and the damage inflicted.
“It suffered significant damage,” Mr. Obama said. “Having said all that, yes I think they made a mistake. We cannot have a society where some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States.”
Asked if the U.S. believes that another country such as China was involved in the hacking, the president said “we have no indication” that any other nation participated in the attack.
