In what has become the biggest scandal in the hacking world, North Korea is being blamed for its possible involvement in the recent cyber-attack on Sony. The premise being Sony’s release of an American comedy film depicting the assassination of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un.
The dismay of North Korea in the western world is no secret. The strict communist regime has become infamous for its totalitarian ruler, Kim Jong-Un, who is known for threatening war on the west. The war is already there, not directly, but on other mediums. In print media, music, and TV shows, all involved parties push their own ideology forward to influence the masses.
Amidst all this, when a movie like “The Interview” is made, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, depicting the assassination of a North Korean leader, it only seems fair that Kim Jong-Un did not appreciate it. However, when Sony got the rights to the film for release, the government of Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea, did not take the news lightly.
In a statement sent to the Secretary-General of the UN, the government of Pyongyang stated that the making of the film and its eventual release in select regions all over the world, is a blatant funding of terrorism against North Korea, and also “an act of war”, by all the “forces” that are against it.
Sony, however, came into the picture only after it acquired rights to the film. With plans in motion to launch the film in December all over the world under its Sony Pictures wing, Sony became victim to a cyber-attack by a team of hackers identifying themselves as the Guardians of Peace. All computer systems at Sony went black, with nothing but a red skull appearing on the screens, captioned “Hacked by #GOP”. This skull soon disappeared, but in a statement released by the same hackers in a statement following the attack, it was declared that confidential data pertaining to Sony’s operations had been stolen.
Sony has been investigating the matter ever since the company came under attack last Monday. The company initially considered a possible connection with North Korea, and measured the origin of the attack to Korean hackers residing in China. Sony anticipated that the attack was a direct result of retaliation by North Korea because of its rights to The Interview.
The shutdown of computer systems at Sony was confirmed by the company, and also by reports from people who sent emails to the company after the hacking occurred. All the emails sent to Sony were sent back with a message stating that the system was down due to a “disruption”.
The Interview is a story of two reporters who visit North Korea to interview Kim Jong-Un. Both the reporters are then hired by the CIA to assassinate the Korean leader.
However, in a recent statement released on Saturday by Sony, no real connection to North Korea has yet been established so far. Hence, as long as there is no evidence, a finger cannot be pointed at the communist regime.
