Sony hack: White House views attack as security issue

[webfact]

Sony hack: White House views attack as security issue

WASHINGTON: -- A cyber attack on Sony Pictures that forced the cancellation of a major film release is being seen as a serious national security matter, the US says.

A White House spokesman said the US believed the hacking was the work of a "sophisticated actor" - but refused to confirm if North Korea was responsible.

Sony withdrew The Interview, a new comedy film about North Korea's leader, after threats from hackers.

Hackers have already released sensitive information stored on Sony computers.

READ MORE: 'America has lost its first cyberwar'

They later issued a warning to members of the public planning to see The Interview.

Referring to the 11 September 2001 terror attacks, they said "the world will be full of fear" if the film was screened.

Many cinemas scrapped plans to show the film, and Sony then cancelled the release of the film altogether - moves criticised in Hollywood as an attack on the freedom of expression.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30538154


-- BBC 2014-12-19

[ThailandRick]

I wanted to watch the movie...

Sony has pulled the movie and will not be release on the 25th... I'm sure it would have been a good one

Edited December 19, 2014 by ThailandRick

[canuckamuck]

If Sony isn't going to release it in theaters they should at least get it on the web, so NK still loses.

I hear the movie is a bit of a turd though. Too bad for all the publicity it's getting.

[Tatsujin]

What happened to the policy of not negotiating with or accepting terrorist demands?

That step down the slippery slope has been a big one ...

[zydeco]

Should beam the movie into South Korea and all of North Korea's neighbors for free view on both satellite and terrestrial TV. If anybody owns a TV in North Korea, telecast it there too.

[yellowboat]

A poor decision on Sony's part to give in. Even with the poor behavior of some of their executives, they should move forward. Who has ever known a movie excutive in Hollywood to behave properly ?

[F430murci]

This may end better for US economy long term. I am hopeful Internet business will be a thing of the past due to security issues. There is no way to stop the hacking. Eventually, mom and pop brick and mortar small businesses will have a chance to exist. That is what we need for our middle class to once again thrive.

Edited December 19, 2014 by F430murci

[squarethecircle]

Hey, maybe Anonymous can hack into North Korea and show this movie on every TV inside the country. Put their skills to some use.

[lil fluffy clouds]

White house probabably did the hacking to inflame public opinion, business as usual, war is profitable.

[Bigfarang1948]

SSSSHHHHHHHHH Quiet pease. WE do not want to disturb President Obama while he is caving in to the demands of Castro. He is gonna give them billions in aid in exchange for some cuban rum, sugar cane, cigars and all the poor, unemployed people there who have family here in the USA. When commercial flight restrictions are lifted between Miami and Havana, the flights coming into the US will be filled with people carrrying a one way ticket. They will disappear into the Miami population, demand political asylum and then we will be only too happy to give them everything they want for FREE, just like we do to illegals from Mexico and Central America. I bet it will get so bad, we set up an immigrant processing center at Miami's airport where they will be given a green card, a social security card, a drivers license and more money than they have ever seen in their entire lives. I don't blame the people for taking advantge of a weak American president who knows no more about bargaining power than Jimmy Carter did.

I wanted to watch the movie...

Sony has pulled the movie and will not be release on the 25th... I'm sure it would have been a good one

[Mosha]

Coincidence? North Korea's Internet has crashed. Their only link is through China.

[Ulysses G.]

The US has NOT denied being behind it. Now, release the movie free on-line.

[Mosha]

Could be anything though. The power supply is tenuous at best. Many cities are left without power at night. You only have to look at pictures taken from space. Must be a great place for star gazing.

[VegasVic]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

A poor decision on Sony's part to give in. Even with the poor behavior of some of their executives, they should move forward. Who has ever known a movie excutive in Hollywood to behave properly ?

SONY is a Japanese company, what makes you think that a "hollywood exec" made the final decision???

[VegasVic]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

If Sony isn't going to release it in theaters they should at least get it on the web, so NK still loses.

I hear the movie is a bit of a turd though. Too bad for all the publicity it's getting.

The movie was made for the adolescent humor crowd and wasn't destined to become a huge financial success or a critically acclaimed piece of work, however with all the hoopla going on I think that now this movie will wind up being a massive financial success, and you can be assured that it will be released

[Ulysses G.]

Could be anything though. The power supply is tenuous at best. Many cities are left without power at night. You only have to look at pictures taken from space. Must be a great place for star gazing.

They are forced to turn the lights off at night to save energy. I saw a documentary the other night on a special University that is one of the few places that is allowed to leave them on.

[Mosha]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

If Sony isn't going to release it in theaters they should at least get it on the web, so NK still loses.

I hear the movie is a bit of a turd though. Too bad for all the publicity it's getting.

The movie was made for the adolescent humor crowd and wasn't destined to become a huge financial success or a critically acclaimed piece of work, however with all the hoopla going on I think that now this movie will wind up being a massive financial success, and you can be assured that it will be released

Brits will remember Mary Whitehouse, any thing she wanted to ban would be a massive sell. Alice Cooper sent her flowers after her campaign against him and his band. Kim has assured this films place in history.

[Mosha]

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/north-korea-threatens-to-attack-white-house-over-hacking-claims/ar-BBh5YIe

Olympus will fall. Not

[chuckd]

[Chicog]

Opening in selected theatres on Christmas day. I'm looking forward to seeing a few Xmas moviegoers' bitter fate.

[Choctastic]

White house probably did the hacking to inflame public opinion, business as usual, war is profitable.

Of course they did. NK is a long-standing U.S. punch-bag. Proof isn't necessary anymore. Pathetic.

[Jay Sata]

Great promotion for a movie guys.

Who dreamed this one up :-)

[Publicus]

SSSSHHHHHHHHH Quiet pease. WE do not want to disturb President Obama while he is caving in to the demands of Castro. He is gonna give them billions in aid in exchange for some cuban rum, sugar cane, cigars and all the poor, unemployed people there who have family here in the USA. When commercial flight restrictions are lifted between Miami and Havana, the flights coming into the US will be filled with people carrrying a one way ticket. They will disappear into the Miami population, demand political asylum and then we will be only too happy to give them everything they want for FREE, just like we do to illegals from Mexico and Central America. I bet it will get so bad, we set up an immigrant processing center at Miami's airport where they will be given a green card, a social security card, a drivers license and more money than they have ever seen in their entire lives. I don't blame the people for taking advantge of a weak American president who knows no more about bargaining power than Jimmy Carter did.

I wanted to watch the movie...

Sony has pulled the movie and will not be release on the 25th... I'm sure it would have been a good one

Off topic big fahlang political spam.

[Publicus]

North Korea on its own couldn't hack my microwave oven.

This was done by Unit 121 of the NK army operating in the PRChina in Shenyang City, which is a stone's throw from the NK-PRC border -- about the distance of Khon Ken from Bangkok. The CCP and the PLA work with the NK army and government to train the hackers who then operate out of the PRChina using CCP hacking and spyware technologies.

Gordon Chang, the China expert who among other largely unknown roles is an adviser to the Pentagon, has made clear the USGovernment has traced the hacking back to exactly these sources, and that it's nothing new to the NSA or to the Pentagon.

What is new however is that the CCP Boyz in Beijing and the Clowns in Pyongyang have decided to attack moviegoing in the United States, and to attack First Amendment freedoms of speech (and assembly) targeting both the general moviegoing public and Hollywood.

Mr Chang, who is a lawyer says an effective response would be to mass produce the move on DVD and to pirate it into North Korea. Chang says the motive of both Pyongyang and the Boyz in Beijing is to prevent the general release of the movie due to the reality the movie after release could easily be coped by pirates and easily smuggled into NK for NKoreans to see.

By copying it and distributing it for easy smuggling into NK, the USG could foil the plan because North Koreans would scoop up the DVDs and watch it in small trusted groups, in secret, much as they secretly do many other prohibited and forbidden anti-government behaviors that sometimes cost them dearly.

Mr Chang didn't say, but it has certainly been well known for a long time that the CCP Boyz in Beijing have provided NK with all of its nuclear technology, albeit at the lowest levels possible, to produce the weak explosive devices and missiles NK does have and has demonstrated.

This photo illustration shows North Korean money purchased at a Chinese

border town and displayed in front of a painting in Beijing on March 6, 2013.

China is North Korea's largest trade partner and main ally.

(AFP/Getty Images)

http://www.chinahighlights.com/shenyang/map.htm

Edited December 24, 2014 by Publicus

[canuckamuck]

North Korea on its own couldn't hack my microwave oven.

This was done by Unit 121 of the NK army operating in the PRChina in Shenyang City, which is a stone's throw from the NK-PRC border -- about the distance of Khon Ken from Bangkok. The CCP and the PLA work with the NK army and government to train the hackers who then operate out of the PRChina using CCP hacking and spyware technologies.

Gordon Chang, the China expert who among other largely unknown roles is an adviser to the Pentagon, has made clear the USGovernment has traced the hacking back to exactly these sources, and that it's nothing new to the NSA or to the Pentagon.

What is new however is that the CCP Boyz in Beijing and the Clowns in Pyongyang have decided to attack moviegoing in the United States, and to attack First Amendment freedoms of speech (and assembly) targeting both the general moviegoing public and Hollywood.

Mr Chang, who is a lawyer says an effective response would be to mass produce the move on DVD and to pirate it into North Korea. Chang says the motive of both Pyongyang and the Boyz in Beijing is to prevent the general release of the movie due to the reality the movie after release could easily be coped by pirates and easily smuggled into NK for NKoreans to see.

By copying it and distributing it for easy smuggling into NK, the USG could foil the plan because North Koreans would scoop up the DVDs and watch it in small trusted groups, in secret, much as they secretly do many other prohibited and forbidden anti-government behaviors that sometimes cost them dearly.

Mr Chang didn't say, but it has certainly been well known for a long time that the CCP Boyz in Beijing have provided NK with all of its nuclear technology, albeit at the lowest levels possible, to produce the weak explosive devices and missiles NK does have and has demonstrated.

This photo illustration shows North Korean money purchased at a Chinese

border town and displayed in front of a painting in Beijing on March 6, 2013.

China is North Korea's largest trade partner and main ally.

(AFP/Getty Images)

http://www.chinahighlights.com/shenyang/map.htm

I think Sony's first move should be to make sure the movie is dubbed into Korean, and then get those torrents out there.

[siampolee]

As said already, ''release this movie,'' it will hit the P2P torrent sites right in the ''bulls eye.''

Said movie will go viral and no matter what that reject from the human race fat lard tub Kim- Jong- un says or migh think he will indeed be assured of the top level rating as the worlds premier international idiot.

Kim Jong-un

Edited December 25, 2014 by siampolee

[Publicus]

The Interview made a good $18 million on its first weekend showing in a very limited number of US cinema houses but it's already gone viral in North Korea.

Even before it's on DVD North Koreans are lining up to pay as much as $50 for a copy once it is produced on DVD, and the bidding may go higher yet.

Pyongyang has ordered black marketeers to stop smuggling any and all American movies into the country, which is a curious order to say the least, giving focus to who really runs the smuggling industry in NK..

China and North Korea expert Gordon Chang says the Kim regime fears the film because the death of Kim Jong Un at the end suggests to N Koreans that he can be dispensed with. Chang says regime domestic propaganda mills are struggling to portray Kim as a god because he waddles about using a cane.

I would add that its immaterial whether the movie is good or bad, hyped or simply a victim, if it perhaps can turn a corner on the NK regime it would be more effective than decades of diplomacy and international subterfuge. Or maybe it is subterfuge....the US knows how to use its soft power too.

Demand For ‘The Interview’ Is Shooting Up In North Korea And Its Government Is Freaking

Out

According to Free North Korea Radio, an online radio network made by North Korean defectors, demand for “The Interview” has been shooting up among North Koreans. It says people are willing to pay almost $50 a copy of the movie, which is 10X higher than what a regular South Korean TV show’s DVD would cost in the black market.

In response, North Korea’s State Security Department and The Ministry of People’s Security held an emergency meeting recently, and told its officers to make sure the movie doesn’t make it into the country under any circumstances.

The report says the North Korean government has beefed up its border security inspection level, and even told black market dealers to not bring in any kind of US movie for the time being.

But even with all the increased inspection, some lucky North Koreans may be able to see “The Interview” soon. North Korean defector and activist Park Sang Hak plans to send copies of “The Interview” to Pyongyang through 33-foot hydrogen balloons as soon as the film becomes available on DVD.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-demand-for-the-interview-2014-12#ixzz3NIYPAaxd