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All you need to know about the Sony hack issue

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As new revelations about Sony Pictures continue to tumble out, we bring you a gist of the story so far.

What is Sony hacking?

Sony Pictures received a mail on November 21 demanding 'monetary compensation' to 'avoid great damage', according to Mashable. On November 24, the news of hacking became public. Then on December 8, a letter was posted on a file-sharing site asking Sony to "stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War!" It was signed by GOP, the nickname for the "Guardians of Peace" group that claimed responsibility for the cyber attack at Sony. The attack is the biggest hacking of a company on US soil.

Related Read - Group claiming Sony hack demands 'Interview' not be released

What is The Interview?

Sony's The Interview is a film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco which was due for release on December 25. The film's plot revolves around a show producer and his host who manage to book an interview with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and are instructed by the CIA to assassinate him. Sony pulled the film after movie theater chains said they would not show the film citing security concerns after hackers made threats against cinemas and audiences.

What was leaked in the hack?

Hackers slowly started leaking the private e-mails and conversations of Sony's top management. These leaks revealed a lot of the inner workings of the company as well as the personal conversations between executives and employees. The revelations included details of movies in the making or about to be released, as well as instances of gender gap in payment of actors, rude and racist comments about Hollywood actors and Barack Obama. It also leaked scripts including one for upcoming James Bond movie Spectre, suggested crossovers, probable casting news. Big movies like Brad Pitt starrer Fury, Sony's Oscar bait Mr Turner are at the risk of being available for illegal downloading.

Related Read - Hack Attack: Sony Pictures' films leaked online including Brad Pitt starrer 'Fury'

Sony Pictures has been sued in a class action by two people who described themselves as former employees and accused the company of failing to protect employee data. The plaintiffs are asking for compensation for any damages as well as credit monitoring services, identity theft insurance and other assistance for themselves and any former or current US employees whose data was similarly compromised.

US response

The FBI on December 19, Friday announced that investigators had determined that North Korea was behind the hacking of Sony, calling it an unacceptable act of state-sponsored "intimidation." It was the first time the United States has directly accused another country of a cyber attack of this nature on American soil.

US authorities have said that North Korea is behind the hacking because the film made fun of Kim Jong-un. North Korea has denied their involvement and also offered to help in the investigation of the matter. A north Korean spokesperson said, 'If the US refuses to accept our proposal for a joint investigation and continues to talk about some kind of response by dragging us into the case, it must remember there will be grave consequences." 

President Barack Obama vowed that the United States will respond to the devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures blamed on the North Korean government. Obama said the cyberattack "caused a lot of damage" to Sony but that he believed the company made a mistake in canceling the release of "The Interview," a comedy portraying the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. "We will respond," Obama told an end-of-year news conference. "We'll respond proportionally, and we'll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose." Obama said he wished that Sony had spoken to him first before yanking the movie, suggesting it could set a bad precedent. "I think they made a mistake," he said.

In a later interview on CNN's "State of the Union with Candy Crowley", Obama said "No, I don't think it was an act of war. I think it was an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly, very expensive. We take it very seriously. We will respond proportionately."

The situation has the risk that an overly harsh US response could provoke Pyongyang to escalate any cyber warfare. Non-conventional capabilities such as cyber warfare and nuclear technology are the weapons of choice for the impoverished North, defectors from the country said in Seoul (South Korea).

China, after US authorities claimed of possible Chinese link to the attacks, said that it does not support illegal cyber actions committed within its borders.

Hollywood response

Sony had decided to pull the release of The Interview after the hackers threatened the movie theatres saying if they released the movie, they will face attacks similar to the 9/11 terror attack.  However, on December 20 it said that the company would like to find alternatives to release the film.

Hollywood biggies George Clooney and Sean Penn showed their support to the studio and condemned the attack. They also expressed the fear over the future of the industry under the shadow of possibility of cyber attack. 

Actors Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Rob Lowe, late-night talk  show host Jimmy Kimmel and filmmaker Judd Apatow, all friends of The Interview stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, criticized the decision made by movie theaters and Sony on calling off the screening of the film.

North Korea's response

North Korea denied involvement in the hack and  proposed a joint investigation with the United States on the cyber attack against Sony Pictures. However, it called the charge by the FBI that it was behind the attack "slander".


(With agency inputs)

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