By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
The North Korean government was behind a devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment last month, the FBI said Friday.
The announcement is the first such statement conclusively linking the computer attack to the secretive government.
It said that tools, coding, and the infrastructure that were used in the attack are similar to those used in previous attacks linked to Pyongyang.
But the FBI said that the attack’s “destructive” and “coercive nature” set it apart from other cyber attacks.
"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. Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior," the bureau said in a statement.
The hackers, who call themselves the Guardians of Peace, released a deluge of confidential, and sometimes embarrassing information from Sony studios. They also leaked on the Internet some of the company’s yet-to-be released films.
Following the release of the FBI’s findings, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johson said the attack “was not just an attack against a company and its employees. It was also an attack on our freedom of expression and way of life.”
Earlier this week the Guardians threatened 9/11-style attacks on theaters showing the comedy movie “The Interview,” prompting Sony to cancel its Christmas Day release. The movie’s plot involves a television industry duo that is recruited by the CIA to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
The White House said Thursday that it is weighing a “proportional response” to the attack, but did not outline any details.
www.aa.com.tr/en
