Sony Pictures corporate network was hacked on 24th November, 2014 by a group of hackers calling themselves #GOP, Guardians of Peace. The hackers used a malware which downloaded each and every file present on the Sony Pictures network before erasing all the data. The malware was found to be available for purchase on Dark Web underground forum for $30,000 in Bitcoins. After hacking the Sony network, the hackers started leaking the stolen data including some movies selectively through various file sharing websites and torrent websites. The hack was blamed on the North Korea by the authorities in United States. It had become a centre of huge diplomatic row between the North Koreans and the US authorities with President Obama himself calling for a calculated response against them. The hack was blamed on North Korea because of a Movie called ‘The Interview’ in which the villain had a stunning similarity in terms of looks as well as name with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un. Wikileaks made the entire archive available to public because it states that the information belongs to the people of the world. The WikiLeaks websites states that, It may be noted that Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has threatened to sue media houses and publications who publish the hacked Sony data. In November 2014 the White House alleged that North Korea’s intelligence services had obtained and distributed a version of the archive in revenge for SPE’s pending release of The Interview, a film depicting a future overthrow of the North Korean government and the assassination of its leader, Kim Jong-un. Whilst some stories came out at the time, the original archives, which were not searchable, were removed before the public and journalists were able to do more than scratch the surface.” You can access the Sony hack archive here.
