US formally accuses Pyongyang of Sony cyberattack

WASHINGTON — The United States Justice Department yesterday blamed the North Korean government for the cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment computers that exposed Hollywood secrets, destroyed company data and caused the studio to cancel the release of a movie.

“The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions,” the bureau said in a statement.

The FBI concluded that malicious software used in the Sony attack revealed links to malware previously used by North Koreans. The tools used in the attack were also similar to a cyberattack in March last year against South Korean banks and media organisations carried out by North Korea, the statement said.

“For example, there were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods and compromised networks.”

The Sony attack rendered thousands of computers inoperable and forced the company to take its entire computer network offline, the FBI said.

“We are deeply concerned about the destructive nature of this attack on a private-sector entity and the ordinary citizens who worked there. North Korea’s actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a US business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves,” the FBI added. “Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behaviour.”

President Barack Obama is expected to address the matter at a previously scheduled press conference today.

Sony Corp’s Culver City, California-based studio cancelled the Dec 25 release of The Interview, a comedy that depicts the fictional assassination of North Korea’s leader, after major cinema chains said they would not show the picture.

A group claiming credit for the attack invoked the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in threatening movie fans with violence if they went to see the film.

The FBI said it would impose “cost and consequences” on people, groups or countries found to carry out cyberattacks. The statement did not specify any retaliatory actions the US would take in response to the Sony attack.

Yesterday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration is weighing a “proportional response” to the cyberattack and is wary that the intrusion may have been designed to provoke a large-scale US reaction.

The Seth Rogen comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drew condemnation from the country.

Late last month, attackers crippled the movie studio’s computers and began releasing thousands of internal documents, including emails, salaries and medical histories of employees.

The attack was initiated by a sophisticated actor and the US investigation is making progress, Mr Earnest said. The character of the intrusion makes it a national security matter, not only an economic one, he added.

The cyberattack may spur the US government to define what — if any — responsibility and authority it has to protect private companies that control major parts of the nation’s financial, energy and communications infrastructure. Bloomberg