Sony Pictures may be learning that Seth Rogen's upcoming comedy mocking North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is not much of a laughing matter, after a damaging cyber attack on the movie studio's computers that is being blamed on North Korean hackers.
North Korea's state news agency earlier this year condemned Rogen's new movie, "The Interview," which also stars James Franco, as being an "act of war" for its fictional assassination plot and portrayal of Kim as a target of ridicule, reports
The Wall Street Journal. The movie is set for release on Christmas Day.
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"This act of not fearing any punishment from Heaven is touching off the towering hatred and wrath of the service personnel and people of the D.P.R.K," the news agency said in June.
Last week, hackers broke into Sony Pictures' computers and stole films that were newly released and unreleased, along with sensitive documents, and computer security experts believe North Korea orchestrated the attacks, the Journal reports.
The cyber attack was conducted using some of the Korean-language malware that hackers used to attack South Korean bank and television networks' computers two years ago.
But on Wednesday, a North Korean diplomat denied Pyongyang was behind the cyber attack, reports
Reuters and called the accusation "another fabrication targeting the country," which "publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy."
The hackers have already revealed a great deal of sensitive information on the file-sharing website Pastebin, reports
Bloomberg News, including the budget for "The Interview" and details about Rogen's $8.4 million compensation for the film.
The hackers also revealed details about other executive pay, Social Security numbers, scripts for upcoming TV shows, and even studio head Michael Lynton's credit card number.
"That’s really, really sensitive stuff, particularly for high-profile people," said Zachary K. Goldman, executive director of the Center on Law and Security at New York University’s School of Law, told Bloomberg. "Think of all the mayhem you could cause with that."
The leaks included more than 2,000 details about salaries and other information on 31,000 Sony employees leaked from the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche, and may have been leaked from the computer of a Sony employee who had worked for accounting firm and may have saved back some files, reports
The Telegraph.
Rogen told
The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that North Korea's declaration of war over the movie prompted a lot of "high-fives."
The North Korean dictator is portrayed in the film as a "meglomanic despot who lives in luxury while his people starve," reports The Times, which describes it as a over-the-top comedy and a "bizarro espionage story."
"You never know if a movie is going to be funnier or better than your last movie," Rogen said. "But what we always think is, 'Maybe we can make the next movie crazier.' So it's nice when you hear, 'This movie is really crazy.'"
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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