The statement sent to Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, by a group identifying itself as Anonymous, denies that the Sony hackers are North Korean, despite the FBI’s revelation Friday that their probe had determined as much. It mocks the decision to pull the movie, saying “by not releasing ‘The Interview,’ you are denying us the privilege of the Freedom Of Information Act (1966).”
The sender slammed Sony, saying pulling the movie was a “very cowardly” act of both the CEO and the organization, alleging it showed “panicking at first sight of trouble.”
The message also warned of accepting outside media distribution offers and releasing the film via sites like BitTorrent.
“We know that Mr. Paulo Coelho has offered Sony Entertainment a sum of $100,000 for the rights of the movie; where he shall then be able to upload the movie onto BitTorrent… Obviously, you shall not be responding to his generous offer – so please respond to ours with a public conference, we wish to offer you a deal…,” the statement said.
BitTorrent Proposal
The BitTorrent file-sharing company proposed on Friday that Sony release “The Interview” on its self-publishing platform.
The company said Sony could start using its new alternative digital-distribution pay gate for artists, called BitTorrent Bundle, where artists can release material for a fee.
North Korean Threatens to “Blow Up” U.S.?
In its most recent response to allegations it was behind the Sony hack, North Korea threatened to “blow up U.S. citadels,” accusing Washington of being “deeply involved” in the making of the movie, and maintaining it had no link to the data breach.
— CrystalTheBruce (@CrystalTheBruce) December 18, 2014
In a statement published by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday, North Korean officials hailed the work of the hackers, claiming they don’t know who the culprits are, but stressing that they would target “all the citadels” of the U.S. in future attacks.
"The army and people of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the U.S. in all war spaces including cyber warfare space to blow up those citadels,” the statement said.
The post also called the US a “cesspool of terrorism,” adding that it had clear evidence that “The Interview” which features the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was a “propaganda attack” by the US.
The movie was pulled by Sony Pictures before its scheduled release on Christmas Day after hackers threatened cinemagoers of attacks on theaters.
Sony Pictures has pledged to find a way to get the film out.
