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 "The hacking into Sony Pictures Entertainment might be a righteous
deed of the supporters and sympathizers with the DPRK in response to
its appeal," the article by the KCNA news agency said, using the
official DPRK acronym for North Korea.
The article, which represents the nation's most detailed response
about the attack to date, denounced South Korea, accusing Seoul of
"floating the false rumor that the North was involved in the
hacking."
It also warned the United States that "there are a great number of
supporters and sympathizers with the DPRK all over the world."
It said 'Guardians of Peace,' the hacking gang that has taken
responsibility for the attack at the Sony Corp unit, was one such
group. A North Korean diplomat has denied Pyongyang was behind the
attack that was launched last month, though a U.S. national security
source said it was a suspect.
Joseph DeTrani, a former senior U.S. intelligence official who has
served as a special envoy in negotiations with Pyongyang, said that
North Korea has historically been truthful when making statements
about its involvement in attacks.
However, current leader Kim Jong Un has only been in power for about
three years, which raises the possibility that the nation could have
swayed from that policy, DeTrani said.
DeTrani said that he did not know if Pyongyang was responsible, but
that it did have the ability to launch such an attack.
To date, cybersecurity experts say most of its cyber capabilities
have been targeted at South Korea, which is technically still in a
state of war with the North.
The attack shut down most of the studio's network for more than a
week and hackers have released sensitive data over the Internet,
including employee salaries and Social Security numbers along with
high-quality digital versions of several unreleased films.
Forensics experts hired by Sony said the breach was unprecedented,
well-planned and carried out by an "organized group," according to
an email obtained by Reuters on Saturday.
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That document did not identify suspects, but people close to the
investigation have told Reuters that North Korea is a principal
suspect based on technical evidence and Pyongyang's strong
opposition to Sony Pictures comedy, 'The Interview,' which features
a plot to assassinate the North Korean leader and is due to open
Dec. 25 in the United States.
North Korea has described the film as an "act of war," though a
North Korean diplomat last week denied that his nation was involved
in the cyber attack.
Sony appears to be going ahead with its Christmas release. Actors
James Franco and Seth Rogen appeared on the U.S. television program
"Saturday Night Live" to promote "The Interview," in which they
co-star.
"Something pretty crazy happened this week," Franco joked as he
began a monologue about the unprecedented attack on U.S. soil, which
included the theft of sensitive data of actors who had worked on
Sony films.
"Soon you'll know that my email is cuterthandavefranco@aol.com. My
password is Littlejamesycutiepie," he said. "This is all just a real
violation of my personal life."
The monologue was followed by an ad for the film that said it will
be in theaters on Christmas Day, indicating that the hack has not
caused Sony to delay its debut.
(Additional reporting by Chris Michaud in New York; Editing by James
Pearson, Kim Coghill and Eric Walsh)
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