--- title: Sony Hack: NSA Cracked North Korea Computer Systems description: It reportedly happened before the devastating Sony hack canonical: https://time.com/3673552/nsa-north-korea-sony-hack/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-19T14:22:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:45:19.569Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. Cracked North Korea's Computer Systems og:description: It reportedly happened before the devastating Sony hack og:url: https://time.com/3673552/nsa-north-korea-sony-hack/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71f93cac82cf4707/69877aaa35ba6f4c0fc0696a/north-korea-kim-jong-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: Kim Jong Un North Korea og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Cracked North Korea's Computer Systems twitter:description: It reportedly happened before the devastating Sony hack twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71f93cac82cf4707/69877aaa35ba6f4c0fc0696a/north-korea-kim-jong-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Cracked North Korea's Computer Systems > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Jan 19, 2015 2:22 PM UTC  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks through a pair of binoculars as he guides the multiple-rocket launching drill of women's sub-units under KPA Unit 851, in Pyongyang in this undated photo released on Dec. 30, 2014. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks through a pair of binoculars as he guides the multiple-rocket launching drill of women's sub-units under KPA Unit 851, in Pyongyang in this undated photo released on Dec. 30, 2014. KCNA/Reuters by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Jan 19, 2015 2:22 PM UTC Comments by top U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, that blamed North Korea for the Sony Pictures cyberattack were apparently rooted in a top-secret penetration of North Korea’s computer systems by the National Security Agency, [according to The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/world/asia/nsa-tapped-into-north-korean-networks-before-sony-attack-officials-say.html) — a report independently confirmed by NBC News. The Times reported that the penetration occurred before the hack of Sony, but U.S. intelligence officials would not discuss the report Sunday or confirm its details. But the Times report says the evidence gleaned from the U.S. penetration of North Korean government hackers’ activities persuaded Obama and other top officials that North Korea was behind the attack… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sony-hack/sony-hack-n-korean-intel-gleaned-nsa-during-incursion-n288761?cid=par-time-article%5F20150119) ### PHOTOS: This is how North Korea's government wants you to see Kim Jong Un  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (3rd L) and his wife Ri Sol-ju (2nd L) look on during a visit to Unit 1017 of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Air and Anti-Air Force, honoured with the title of O Jung Hup-led 7th Regiment, in this undated picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 21, 2013. KCNA—REUTERS  This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 7, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) being celebrated by soldiers as he inspects the defense detachment on Ung Islet, defending an outpost in the East Sea of Korea. KNS—AFP/Getty Images  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Mangyongdae Revolutionary School on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang June 7, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks through a pair of binoculars during an inspection of the Hwa Islet Defence Detachment standing guard over a forward post off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on July 1, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS  This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 19, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) meeting with children at a baby home and orphanage as he visits the Taesongsan General Hospital in Pyongyang. KNS—AFP/Getty Images  This photo taken on July 27, 2014 and released on July 28, 2014 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows service personnel of North Korean Army salute to a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un clad in marshal unform at the plaza of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, the 61st anniversary of the victory of the Fatherland Liberation War. KCNA—AFP/Getty Images  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smokes a cigarette as he gives guidance on the development of Ssuk Islet in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang June 2, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) visits a construction site of a resort for scientists in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang May 29, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS  North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) sits in a wooden boat with other soldiers as he visits military units on islands in the most southwest of Pyongyang in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang August 19, 2012. KCNA—REUTERS  The photo provided by KCNA on Aug. 15, 2014 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (C) guides the test-fire of a "Korean style ultra-precision high-performance tactical rocket" on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the nation's liberation. KCNA—XIHNUA/SIPA  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the newly built ski resort in the Masik Pass region, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on December 31, 2013\. North Korea's state-run television KRT said Kim was satisfied with the ski resort after looking around its facilities which included a hotel, ski service and rental shops. KCNA—Reuters  A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party released on 30 June 2014, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observing a tactical rocket firing drill of the North's Strategic Force at an unidentified place. 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