By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama said Friday that Sony Pictures Entertainment’s decision to cancel the Christmas Day premier of a comedy movie was “a mistake.”
“Sony's a corporation. It suffered significant damage. There were threats against its employees. I am sympathetic to the concerns that they faced,” he told reporters. “Having said all that, yes, I think they made a mistake,” he said during his annual year-end press conference.
"I wish they had spoken to me first," he added, referring to Sony.
The FBI had earlier on Friday singled out the North Korean government for being behind a cyber attack on Sony Pictures that resulted in droves of sensitive and confidential information being made public.
The agency’s investigation showed that the tools, coding, and the infrastructure that were used in the attack are similar to those used in previous attacks linked to Pyongyang.
The hackers, known as the Guardians of Peace, also threatened 9/11-style attacks on theaters showing "The Interview." The movie's plot involves a television industry duo that is recruited by the CIA to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
“They caused a lot of damage. And we will respond. We will respond proportionally, and we'll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose,” Obama said. “We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States,” Obama said.
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