After criminals employed by the North Korean government hacked a private U.S. corporation, inflicting millions of dollars in damages and embarrassing the company, the White House is now forced to consider what retaliatory measures to take.
In a press conference last week, President Obama said he will respond “proportionally” to the cyber attacks, but as of yet has not announced any specifics. Nevertheless, he didn’t need to announce any specifics for the regime in North Korean to take offense at the mere suggestion it was somehow responsible. To wit:
North Korea issued a new threat against the United States late Sunday and accused President Barack Obama of "recklessly" spreading rumors that Pyongyang is behind last month's devastating cyberattack on Sony Pictures.The long statement from the powerful National Defense Commission warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole U.S. mainland, that cesspool of terrorism."
Intelligence officials and the FBI have concluded that the devastation points back to North Korea. No surprises there. In the end, however, it seems unlikely North Korea’s quixotic efforts to threaten the movie into oblivion will pan out; one of Sony’s lawyers announced as recently as yesterday that the film “will be distributed”:
"Sony only delayed this...it [the film] will be distributed. How it will be distributed I don't think anyone knows just yet."
Still, rest assured it's coming. After all, rumors surfaced over the weekend that the film could be released via Sony “Crackle," although the corporation may now in fact be in talks with another popular, film-friendly Internet platform: YouTube:
As President Barack Obama again expressed disappointment in the company’s decision to withdraw the movie in the face of threats thought to originate from North Korea, Michael Lynton, the studio’s chief executive, insisted on Sunday it had “not caved” to hackers who crippled the company and that it was exploring ways to let audiences see the film.“We would still like the public to see this movie, absolutely,” he told CNN. “There are a number of options open to us. And we have considered those, and are considering them.”
Asked about releasing the film via YouTube, he said: “That’s certainly an option and certainly one thing we will consider.”
Presumably the best part of the movie has already been leaked online. But if you want to see the movie in full, you’re probably just going to have to wait.
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