Dubbing themselves as “Guardians of Peace,” the unidentified hacker group has managed to pull off a massive hack of the Sony Pictures network last week, and now continue with further demands.
The group first infiltrated Sony’s networks on November 24th, when they completely disabled the company’s computers. Appearing on the screens during the hack was an image of a red skeleton with a message that read, “Hacked by #GOP.” The group threatened to release “secrets and top secrets” of the company.
The hack resulted in a total of five Sony films being leaked onto file-sharing sites, four of which have yet to be released in theaters. One of the leaked films was Brad Pitt’s World War II drama Fury, which hit theaters back in October. The other four unreleased films include the remake of Annie (in theaters December 19th), Mr. Turner, Still Alice, and To Write Love on her Arms.
But that’s not all. The #GOP hackers claim that they are in possession of more files, including “A-list actors’ passports, financial data, contract documents, password information and executive emails.” Angelina Jolie, Jonah Hill and Cameron Diaz are among those celebrities allegedly affected by the hack.
According to Variety, Sony Pictures is reportedly investigating whether the hackers have any possible connections to North Korea. The country has made threats of “stern punishment” related to James Franco and Seth Rogen’s The Interview, a film based on two journalists who are enlisted by the CIA to assassinate dictator Kim Jong-un.
The comedy, which is due out December 25th, wasn’t one of the leaked films, but the investigation has to consider “all possible sources” despite the lack of evidence that North Korea is in any way involved. Variety recently discovered that the text from a message sent by the hacker group is “encoded in a format compatible with Chinese and Korean characters.” Sony Pictures said that although no clear link exists, the investigation regarding this new finding is underway.
On Monday, the FBI reported that they are working with other U.S. law enforcement agencies to further investigate the attack. “The FBI is working with our interagency partners to investigate the recently reported cyber-intrusion at Sony Pictures Entertainment,” the bureau said in an emailed statement. “The targeting of public and private sector computer networks remains a significant threat, and the FBI will continue to identify, pursue and defeat individuals and groups who pose a threat in cyberspace.”
