'North Korea behind cyberattacks' that led Sony to cancel The Interview
Threats led studio to cancelThe Interview, a film spoofing the country's leader Kim Jong-un, as top North American theatre chains bow out
A US official says North Korea perpetrated the unprecedented act of cyberwarfare against Sony Pictures that escalated to threats of terrorist attacks that ultimately drove the studio to cancel all release plans for , the film at the heart of the incident.
Under the threats of violence at cinemas and with the largest multiplex chains in the US pulling the film from their lineups, Sony on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of cancelling the December 25 release of the Seth Rogen comedy, about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Sony later said all plans to release the film had been cancelled.
The cancellation was a startling blow to the Hollywood studio that has been shaken by hacker leaks and intimidation over the last several weeks by an anonymous group calling itself Guardians of Peace.
A US official said on Wednesday that federal investigators have now connected the Sony hacking to North Korea and may make an announcement in the near future. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to openly discuss an ongoing criminal case.
Sony said it was cancelling release "in light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film". The studio said it respected the exhibitors' concerns.
"We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees and the American public," read the statement. "We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."
