'The Interview' Movie 2014 Release Date: North Korea Official Says Claims That Country Hacked Sony Pictures Are a 'Fabrication'
A North Korean diplomat on Wednesday firmly denied that his country launched a massive cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment. The attack crippled the company's computer network and may be linked to the appearance of five unreleased movies on pirating websites.
"Linking the DPRK to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country," the unnamed North Korean official told Voice of America. "My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy."
The FBI, meanwhile, told USA Today on Thursday the U.S. investigation into the attack is ongoing.
Media reports had suggested that Pyongyang had perpetrated the attack as retaliation for Sony's upcoming comedy "The Interview," which recounts a fictional attempted assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The film is scheduled for release on Christmas in more than 60 countries, including the United States.
North Korea had vowed to "mercilessly destroy" anyone associated with "The Interview" and went so far as to send a letter to the White House, asking President Barack Obama to stop it. Pyongyang called the distribution of the movie "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism."
Data exposed by the Sony hack include the company's payroll, employees medical records and unreleased scripts, Gizmodo detailed. Also released were the salary details of some 30,000 employees of Deloitte, a global accounting firm. Given that only 40 gigabytes 100 terabytes of stolen information have been made public, "there are surely more devastating revelations on the way," Gizmodo reported.
Seth Rogen, who directed and starred in "The Interview," may enjoy "a little lift at the box office thanks to all of this publicity," Gizmodo speculated. The movie tells the story of two tabloid TV journalists, played by Rogen and James Franco, who manage to score an interview with Kim.
Sony's losses, on the other hand, may far outweigh any benefit. Among the movies released to pirating websites were "Fury," "Annie" and "Still Alice" -- all considered possible blockbusters.
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