The Sony Hack Attack continues to make headlines throughout the weekend. Shortly after the FBI confirmed they had proof North Korea was behind the devastating infiltration of Sony Pictures internal database infrastructure, which lead to the mass leaking of emails and documents from inside the studio, and eventually culminated in the cancelation of the Christmas Day release of their comedy The Interview, North Korea still claimed they had nothing to do with the cyber-attack. Today, North Korean officials have proposed that both countries form a joint investigation to find the real culprit behind the Sony Hack.
Both CNN and the Associated Press have reported that North Korea is warning of serious consequences if Washington DC fails to agree to a joint probe that will prove that Pyongyang is innocent, and not responsible for the leaking of documents and the terrorist attack threats made against theaters set to show The Interview. Analysts suggest that North Korea is trying to show sincerity, even though they know the U.S. will never agree to a joint collaboration in investigated this case further. An unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman in Pyongyang proposed the joint investigation. State-run Korean Central News Agency had this to say:
"Whoever is going to frame our country for a crime should present concrete evidence. America's childish investigation result and its attempt to frame us for this crime shows their hostile tendency toward us."
Last night, the official website for The Interview was taken offline. The film's Facebook and Twitter presence were also deleted. At this time, it is not known if The Interview will ever be released. It has been reported that the Obama administration did reach out to China asking for their help in stopping any further North Korean cyber attacks, since the country's telecom lines run through a Chinese-operated network. According to the New York Times, China has not yet replied.
In related news, the Guardians of Peace (aka G.O.P.), the group that has taken responsibility for the Sony Hack, sent an email to various members of the media this morning which contained a message and Youtube link for the FBI. The link led to an introduction spoken in Japanese which was followed by a series of happy faces set against dance music. The refrain, 'You are an Idiot' is sung repeatedly throughout the video. The note appears to claim that the FBI got it wrong in identifying the hackers. The video is not currently available, but the message read:
"By GOP. The result of investigation by FBI is so excellent that you might have seen what we were doing with your own eyes. We congratulate you success. FBI is the BEST in the world. You will find the gift for FBI at the following address."