North Korea show's Sony who's boss

[Jarnhamar]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/the-interview-screenings-cancelled-at-some-theatres-after-hackers-threaten-9-11-style-attacks-1.2875990

The blow that the hacking attack has dealt Sony is spreading beyond the entertainment corporation itself to theatre chains and movie goers alike. And the financial toll is adding up, too.

Threats of violence against movie theatres. The New York premiere of The Interview cancelled. Leaks of thousands more private emails. Lawsuits by former employees that could cost tens of millions in damages.

The fallout from the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack that began four weeks ago exploded Tuesday after the shadowy group calling themselves Guardians of Peace escalated their attack beyond corporate espionage and threatened moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Department of Homeland Security said there was "no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theatres," but noted it was still analyzing messages from the group, dubbed GOP. The warning did prompt law enforcement in New York and Los Angeles to address measures to ramp up security.

Those security fears spurred Sony to allow theatre chains to cancel showings of the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy The Interview, which has been a focus of the hackers' mission to bring down Sony.

I can't help but wonder if they were worried about physical attacks or just worried their secrets and hacked emails were gonna be made public.

 

[Tibbson]

Ass the CNN commentator just noted, this was the first major public cyber attack against the US by a foreign government and they've lost.  ISIS and others must be just waiting their turn.   

 

[jollyjacktar]

It's total capitulation now as they're reporting on radio that Sony won't release it at all.

 

[George Wallace]

This is silly.  Everyone laughs at the puppets in "Team America".  Prior to WW II, Charlie Chaplin made a film "The Great Dictator".  How many films have we seen that had plots including the assassination of the US President or some other world leader?  This is capitalizing on the fears of the Public in a time where ISIL and other fanatics are heavy on their minds.

 

[cryco]

Did not expect Sony to pull the movie. What kind of secrets are the covering up?
Way to pave the way for other terrorist organizations Sony.

 

[Strike]

This is so disheartening, knowing someone who played a role in the film and how his career is directly affected by this movie not playing in theatres.

 

[OldTanker]

Or this is a great PR move on Sony's part. Now everybody is discussing what was was probably a pretty mundane movie. How many people will buy the DVD just to see what all the fuss was about or to show they "won't be pushed around by North Korea"?

 

[a_majoor]

On the bad side, this will pave the way for future attacks on US and Western industry, free speech and political freedoms in general.

On the good side, the North Koreans revealed their hand over a relatively trivial event, giving *us* a large window on their abilities and perhaps other enablers.

The proper counter response would be for Sony to print millions of copies of "The Interview" with Korean subtitles or overdubbing and drop them on the DPRK via balloons and the various other means DVD's are smuggled into the DPRK. Dropping in millions of Sony DVD players, TV's and tablets to distribute the movie and facilitate playing it would also be an appropriate counter response, and an effective stick in the eye (or two word response involving sex and travel) to North Korean terrorist tactics.

 

[Hisoyaki]

Or this is a great PR move on Sony's part. Now everybody is discussing what was was probably a pretty mundane movie. How many people will buy the DVD just to see what all the fuss was about or to show they "won't be pushed around by North Korea"?

The PR team have deep pockets and connections as it had involved the White House in the scheme.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Well China must be saying "WTF- we've done worse and no one ever paid up like that?".  I can tell you for a fact that major corporations across NA and EUR are shitting their pants, because most if not all of them have been hacked to a similar degree or worse [including the company I work for.] 

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Or this is a great PR move on Sony's part. Now everybody is discussing what was was probably a pretty mundane movie. How many people will buy the DVD just to see what all the fuss was about or to show they "won't be pushed around by North Korea"?

There is no plans for a DVD Release

 

[Cloud Cover]

Would be funny if they next hacked iTunes and put it up for sale/rent there...

 

[Kat Stevens]

Korea's objective was to squash the movie being seen.  If Sony Pictures had any stones they'd flood the interwebs with it for free world wide so the whole planet can laugh at that little mushroom headed oompaloompa.

 

[Cloud Cover]

He kind of reminds me of Stephen Harper, but with an actual sense of humour even if it is twisted. 

 

[McG]

Well, the FBI has confirmed that the North Korean government did the attack, and Obama chastises Sony for canceling the launch of its movie.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sony-made-a-mistake-axing-the-interview-obama-says-1.2879097
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/obama-says-sony-made-a-mistake-in-pulling-film-1.2155129

 

[Jarnhamar]

Did not expect Sony to pull the movie. What kind of secrets are the covering up?

Infidelity

 

[Edward Campbell]

It's kinda funny ~ funny peculiar rather than funny "ho ho," but a bit of that, too ~ we used to use Hollywood as part of our "soft power" to help us win the old, big, Cold War (think films like e.g. "Twelve Angry Men" that the Russians allowed into Eastern Europe, thinking it made America look bad, and how it sparked a social revolution in the East) and now Hollywood runs and hides from a two-bit thug running the high tech equivalent of the old, old neighbourhood protection racket.

 

[tomahawk6]

North Korean IP's are having difficulty connecting to the internet today. ;D

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/22/7434201/north-korea-internet-problems-after-obama-response-sony-hack

 

[Jarnhamar]

North Korean IP's are having difficulty connecting to the internet today. ;D

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/22/7434201/north-korea-internet-problems-after-obama-response-sony-hack

Merry Christmas  :subbies:

 

[The Bread Guy]

North Korean IP's are having difficulty connecting to the internet today. ;D

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/22/7434201/north-korea-internet-problems-after-obama-response-sony-hack

Funny, that ....