North Korea says pro-Pyongyang supporters behind Sony cyber attack

By

A crippling cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment may have been the work of pro-North Korean supporters, and allegations that the isolated country was to blame are "wild rumor", state media said on Sunday.

An article in the state KCNA news agency said North Korea had "called on the world" to defend it from a forthcoming Sony Pictures Entertainment comedy, 'The Interview,' which features a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has described the film as an "act of war".

"The hacking into Sony Pictures might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers with the DPRK in response to its appeal," the article said, using the official DPRK acronym for North Korea.

The article denounced South Korea for "floating the false rumor that the North was involved in the hacking", and warned the United States that "there are a great number of supporters and sympathizers with the DPRK all over the world".

It said 'Guardians of Peace', a previously unknown hacking gang which has taken responsibility for the attack, was one such group. A North Korean diplomat has denied Pyongyang was behind the attack that was launched last month but a U.S. national security source said it was a suspect.

Pyongyang has active cyber-warfare capabilities, military and software security experts have said. Much of it is targeted at the South, technically still in a state of war with North Korea.

The attack exposed a trove of internal data, including salaries and Social Security numbers, and shut down the computer systems at the entertainment arm of Sony Corp.

Tags
Cyber attack, North Korea, Kim Jong Un, Sony Pictures, United States, Pyongyang
Join the Discussion
More News
FSU Shooting

Parkland Survivors Faced Second Deadly School Shooting at FSU: 'I Kind of Knew the Drill Already'

Jammacar Rodkesh Gayle

Florida Man Steals Knife From Butcher Counter to Brutally Stab Woman Who Criticized His 'Uncontrolled' Children

Memphis Police

Pregnant Woman Was Ready to Apologize After Her Dog Bit a Child. Then Armed Teens Arrived to Beat Her With Guns

6 Idaho men charged with battery

Idaho Men Who Forcibly Dragged Woman Out of Town Hall Charged With Battery