Sony is having a rough start to the holiday season. The tech giant’s movie division, Sony Pictures, is the victim of an ongoing cyberattack that has resulted in upcoming movies being leaked, communication systems going offline and Twitter accounts being hijacked.
The timing of the attack has led to increasing speculation that North Korea may have orchestrated it, possibly as retribution for an upcoming comedy in which Seth Rogen and James Franco are tasked with assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Investigators have found hacking tools similar to those used by North Korea in previous attacks on South Korea, according to Reuters.
Here’s everything we know so far about the incident:
The attacks began with an ominous photo
On the Monday before Thanksgiving, Sony Pictures employees turned on their computers and were greeted with an ominous picture of red skull and a warning that the company’s “top secrets” would be released if unstated demands were not met.
“We’ve already warned you, and this is just a beginning,” the image reads. “If you don’t obey us, we’ll release data shown the world.”
Another image depicting Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton in hell was posted on Sony Twitter accounts, a sure sign the accounts were compromised. According to a Reddit thread, the hackers claim to have obtained a trove of data that includes passwords, internal financial documents and even copies of celebrities’ passports.
Sony’s communication systems went down for a week
Sony Pictures took down its email and messaging systems for a week as it tried to contain the cyberattack. Employees reportedly had to use phone calls, handwritten notes and fax machines to carry out their work. Multiplereports indicate that Sony’s email system was expected to return Monday, though Sony hasn’t confirmed that yet.
Sony’s big upcoming movies leaked
So far the biggest tangible result of the hack seems to be the leak of five Sony films. DVD-quality versions of Fury, Annie, Still Alice, Mr. Turner and To Write Love on Her Arms are all now available on file-sharing sites.
All of the movies except for Fury have yet to be widely released, so piracy could be a huge blow to their box office take. Over the summer, The Expendables 3 bombed at the box office because a high-quality version of the movie leaked online weeks before it premiered. And a 2011 Carnegie Mellon study found that such pre-release leaks can reduce a movie’s box office take by as much as 19%.
So that’s what we know for sure. But the hack took on a new dimension on Friday, when Re/code reported Sony is investigating North Korea’s possible involvement in the cyberattack, potentially staging the attack from China.
Here’s what we know that actually makes that claim seem plausible:
North Korea hates Sony’s upcoming movie The Interview
Sony’s big Christmas movie this year is The Interview, which stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as TV journalists tasked by the CIA with assassinating Kim Jong-un. North Korean officials are, unsurprisingly, not pleased about a movie that centers on trying to kill their supreme leader for laughs. A government official told North Korean state media in June that releasing the film would constitute “a blatant act of terrorism and war” and would lead to “merciless” retaliation from the country. The government also denounced the film as “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war” in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June.
Rogen shrugged off the warning on Twitter at the time, but The Interview was delayed from its original October release date shortly afterward. (Sony has said the delay was unrelated to North Korea’s statements.)
Take an Inside Look at North Korea
Aug. 26, 2011. A North Korean woman looks down at the city of Pyongyang from the top of the Tower of the Juche Idea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 12, 2011. Central Pyongyang at dusk through a hotel room window.David Guttenfelder—APJan. 16, 2012. Light shines through a window on to a tank filled with goldfish inside an office at the Korean Central News Agency building in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 11, 2012. Under a North Korean flag, residents of Pyongyang wait for public transportation.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 26, 2008. North Korean commuters are seen riding a bus in central Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 12, 2012. A pedestrian walks past a large apartment block in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 12, 2012. A North Korean man rides a bike along the banks of the Pothong River in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 14, 2011. North Koreans pay their respects before a monument of Kim Il-Sung at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APSept. 17, 2008. North Koreans school girls walk hand in hand past a monument in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APOct. 11, 2011. North Korean construction workers labor in the Mansudae area of Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 9, 2012. North Korean women are pictured working in a thread factory in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 3, 2012. A North Korean student learns to drive a tractor on a computerized driving simulator at the Samjiyon Schoolchildren's Palace in Samjiyon, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APOct. 9, 2011. A man walks past a building in Pyongyang where a picture of North Korea's late leader Kim Il-Sung hangs on its outer wall.David Guttenfelder—APApril 22, 2011. A woman looks at monkeys behind a glass enclosure at the central zoo in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 13, 2011. Workers carry painted doors along a road in Mangyongdae, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 14, 2011. Portraits of North Korea's late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hang on a wall at a children's school of performing arts in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APMarch 10, 2011. Children look through a subway car window in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 8, 2012. A North Korean soldier stands at a check point seen from a train heading to North Phyongan Province, about 50 kilometers (35 miles) south of the border town of Sinuiju along North Korea's west coast.David Guttenfelder—APApril 13, 2011. North Korean soldiers tour the grounds of the birthplace of the late President Kim Il-Sung at Mangyongdae, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 2, 2012. The hoof of a deer used as a door handle hangs on the door of the small cabin that is said to have been the home of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung, and the birthplace of his son and late leader Kim Jong-Il at what was a secret military camp during the fight against the Japanese at the foot of Mount Paektu, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 4, 2012. a North Korean soldier working as a guide walks through a forest at the foot of Mount Paektu, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 3, 2012. A man clears snow from the base of a monument at the Samjiyon Grand Monument area in Samjiyon, North Korea at the base of Mount Paektu.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 11, 2012. Snow blankets farm fields on the outskirts of Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 17, 2011. People work in a field outside of Kaesong, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 10, 2012. A North Korean man rides a bicycle on the grounds of a communal apple farm on the outskirts of Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APOct. 8, 2011. A North Korean man rests near a farm field along a highway outside the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2011. A young North Korean dancer leaps by as North Korean girls put on panda bear costumes as they prepare to perform at a gathering at a park to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the late leader Kim Il-Sung's birthday in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2011. A North Korean girl uses her digital camera to take a photograph of her friend dancing at a gathering at a park to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the late leader Kim Il-Sung's birthday.David Guttenfelder—APApril 14, 2011. A young girl stands on floral-print carpet inside the Pyongyang Children's Palace in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 26, 2008. A North Korean woman peers out of an elevator while speaking on an in-house phone at a library in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 12, 2012. A bouquet of flowers sits on a table in front of a painted mural on the wall of a restaurant in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 26, 2008. North Korean ushers peer into the concert hall before the start of a performance by the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 26, 2008. North Koreans look through the performance program before the start of a concert by the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 27, 2008. North Korean girls sing a song entitled "Generalissimo Kim Il Sung Danced With Us" at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APOct. 11, 2011. North Korean soccer fans react after their team missed a goal during a World Cup qualifying match between North Korea and Uzbekistan, in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2011. Women perform a dance routine with badminton rackets at an event to mark the birthday of Kim Il Sung at a park in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APSept. 16, 2008. A guide gives a lecture in front of a diorama showing the Korean War's 1950 battle of Taejon as she gives a tour of the War Museum in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 16, 2012. Fireworks explode over the heads of North Korean soldiers lined up in formation at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang during a parade of thousands of soldiers commemorating the 70th birthday of the late Kim Jong-Il.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 14, 2012. A North Korean stands at attention as others cheer during the unveiling of a new bronze statue depicting the late leader Kim Jong-Il and his father Kim Il-Sung at Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 16, 2012. A large screen shows video, recorded during the period of mourning following the death of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, during a concert in Pyongyang to commemorate his death and what would have been his 70th birthday.David Guttenfelder—APApril 12, 2012. North Korean residents of the capital city mingle on the side of the street in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APJan. 15, 2012. A song and video showing the launch of the North Korean "Unha-2" rocket plays on karaoke stage inside a restaurant in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 8, 2012. A group of journalists walk down a road in front of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket, slated for liftoff at Sohae Satellite Station.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2012. North Koreans, lit with red light, look on with delight as they watch a fireworks display along the Taedong River in Pyongyang to celebrate 100 years since the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2012. North Korean civilians, some weeping, wave flowers as they look up at North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, unseen, at the end of a mass military parade in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square to celebrate 100 years since the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung.David Guttenfelder—APApril 12, 2012. A North Korean woman with a pin of the late leader Kim Il Sung attached to her dress sits with fellow audience members at the "World Congress on the Juche Idea" in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2012. North Korean soldiers ride by on horses in front of flower waving civilians during a mass military parade in Pyongyang's Kim Il-Sung Square to celebrate 100 years since the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung.David Guttenfelder—APApril 13, 2012. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, far right, applauds with senior military officials as citizens wave flowers at an unveiling ceremony for statues of the late leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2012. Two North Korean officials look up at a crowd of military members seated in a stadium in Pyongyang during a mass meeting called by the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling party.David Guttenfelder—APApril 16, 2012. Images of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung and Mt. Paektu appear on a screen behind a choir during a concert in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APApril 17, 2012. A man and a boy pose for a picture in front of portraits of the late leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il at a festival for the "Kimilsungia" flower to mark 100 years since the birth of North Korea's late leader in Pyongyang.David Guttenfelder—APAug. 8, 2012. North Koreans gather under a high dive platform to watch as fellow swimmers hesitate to try a dive at a newly opened swimming pool in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APAug. 8, 2012. North Koreans look at a model of an octopus as they tour a dolphin show facility at a newly-built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APAug. 8, 2012. A woman rides a roller coaster at a newly-built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APAug. 11, 2012. North Koreans grill barbecue under a tree at Majon Beach near Hamhung, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APAug. 11, 2012. Two people dance at Majon beach near Hamhung, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APSept. 8, 2012. A North Korean woman working at a miniature golf facility give guidance to young players in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APSept. 11, 2012. North Korean woman walks down stairs at a restaurant meant primarily for tourists in Kaesong, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APSept. 13, 2012. North Korean children lift toy barbells during play time at a school for the performing arts in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APJan. 10, 2013. North Korean men shovel snow from the roof of a building in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 16, 2013. Female North Korean traffic police officers gather in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to pay their respects in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APFeb. 17, 2013. North Korean soldiers ride an escalator past a model of their country's Unha Rocket as they enter an exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 11, 2013. North Koreans visit the Pyongyang Folk Park on the outskirts of Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 11, 2013. North Koreans dance together beneath a mosaic painting of the late leader Kim Il Sung during a mass folk dancing gathering in Pyongyang to mark the anniversary of the first of many titles of power given to leader Kim Jong Un after the death of his father Kim Jong Il.David Guttenfelder—APApril 14, 2013. Runners rest inside Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang. North Korea hosted the 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon to mark the upcoming birthday of the late leader Kim Il Sung.David Guttenfelder—APApril 15, 2013. A North Korean child covers the eyes of her father as she sits on his shoulders watching mass folk dancing in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 16, 2013. A North Korean soldier races another man on a go cart track at the Fun Fair in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 18, 2013. North Korean children work at easels during a drawing class at Mangyongdae Children's Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 24, 2013. A North Korean boy rides in a bicycle basket on a road north of Kaesong, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 24, 2013. A North Korean man checks his bicycle next to a painted exclamation point on a propaganda billboard in Kaesong, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 24, 2013. A North Korean boy on rollerblades is pulled by a woman on a bicycle on a road south of Kaesong, North Korea and north of the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas.David Guttenfelder—APApril 25, 2013. North Korean soldiers and civilians stand on a foot bridge to look at goldfish in a moat as they tour the grounds of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—APApril 25, 2013. North Korean soldiers and civilians pose for souvenir photos in front of a fountain as they tour the grounds of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, in Pyongyang, North Korea.David Guttenfelder—AP
North Korea’s cyberattack capabilities are increasing fast
Residents of North Korea are known to be isolated from the rest of the world, deprived of basic Internet access and other modes of global communication. However, the country is growing increasingly comfortable weaponizing the Internet. In November 2013, South Korean media reported that Kim Jong-un called cyberattacks a “magic weapon” that could help North Korea launch “ruthless strikes” against its southern foe.
A secretive North Korean bureau called Unit 121 is tasked with infiltrating computer networks, planting viruses and carrying out cyberattacks, according to a Hewlett-Packard report on North Korea’s cyber capabilities. The division carries out attacks both from within North Korea and in Shenyang, China, near the North Korean border. South Korean media have claimed that Unit 121 is the third-largest cyber intelligence unit in the world, behind the U.S. and Russia, though China is also up there.
The U.S. government is taking claims of North Korean involvement seriously
Claims of North Korean involvement are credible enough that the U.S. government is reportedly looking into them. NBC News reports that several government agencies are considering North Korea as a possible suspect in the hack. The FBI is among the U.S. agencies now looking into the hack, according to Reuters.
A North Korean diplomat in New York has denied that his country was involved in hacking. “Linking [North Korea] to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country,” the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Voice of America. “My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy.”
