Officials in the United States Department of Justice will officially reveal on Friday that North Korea was directly responsible for the devastating hack on Sony Pictures, Bloomberg is reporting.
RELATED: North Korea wins – Sony just cancelled The Interview
“The Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation will reveal evidence they believe links the attack to North Korea, according to a U.S. law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity prior to the formal announcement,” writes Bloomberg. “President Barack Obama is expected to address the matter at a previously scheduled press conference this afternoon.”
The hack against Sony was absolutely massive in scope and it revealed a lot of embarrassing emails between Sony execs alongside some sensitive financial information about the studio. This devastating hack, alongside violent threats issued by the hacker group responsible, forced Sony to cancel the film The Interview, which North Korea found offensive since its main plot point was the attempted assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
What will be interesting to see is how North Korea might have pulled off such a huge hack because, unlike Russia and China, the country isn’t known for having hackers with high-end technological skills.
The Interview, a comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, revolves around two Americans’ inept attempts to assassinate Kim Jong-un. The North Korean government has been issuing loud threats about the film for months and leaked emails have shown that Rogen thought he could appease the regime by making the depiction of Kim’s death in the film less gory by showing fewer burn marks and flaming hair. However, Rogen said he still wanted to keep a scene in which Kim’s head finally exploded.
UPDATE: Via Business Insider, here is the FBI’s full statement on North Korea’s links to the Sony hack:
