U.S. officials have determined with "99 percent certainty" that the North Korean government is behind the cyberattack on Sony Pictures that led the company to
cancel the release of comedy film “The Interview,” The Washington Post reported.
“We just haven’t figured out what to do yet,” an unnamed source who was briefed on the investigation said, according to the Post.
The Post said investigators compared malware used in the Sony hack to malware used by North Korea in hacks against South Korean banks in recent years.
Other media outlets, including NBC News and CBS News, also cited unnamed sources linking the North Korean government to the attacks.
"We have found linkage to the North Korean government," an
unnamed U.S. government source said, according to NBC.
Sony Entertainment canceled the Dec. 25 release of “The Interview” after theater chains decided not to show the movie following threats of 9/11-style attacks.
Hackers calling themselves “Guardians of Peace” threatened attacks at theaters during the opening of the comedy film, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco in a plot to assassinate North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has denied a role in the hack but said it "might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers."
Along with threatening the film’s opening, the hackers have leaked budgets to Sony films, salary information of top executives, employee social security numbers, controversial emails of executives, and aliases of Hollywood stars.
The White House was still considering whether to
publically accuse North Korea, The New York Times reported.
Intelligence officials have concluded that the cyberattack on Sony was “both state sponsored and far more destructive than any seen before on American soil,” the Times said. But officials were uncertain whether Sony insiders may have aided the hackers.
The story got widespread attention on Twitter.
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