Sony Pictures condemns Wikileaks' release of hacked material

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-wikileaks-sony-hack-20150416-story.html

Months after Sony Pictures Entertainment suffered from a crippling
cyberattack, troves of the studio's leaked information has resurfaced on
WikiLeaks.

The Julian Assange-run website, known for its massive release of classified
U.S. military documents and diplomatic records, on Thursday published a
searchable database called "The Sony Archives."

It contains 30,287 documents from Sony Pictures and 173,132 emails, to and
from, more than 2,200 Sony Pictures email addresses.

"This archive shows the inner workings of an influential multinational
corporation," Assange said in a statement on the website. "It is newsworthy
and at the centre of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public
domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there."

Sony Pictures condemned the Wikileaks release in a statement, and tried to
shoot down Wikileaks' argument that the documents and emails belong in the
public domain, describing the initial cyber attack as "a malicious criminal
act."

"The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm
SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in
that effort," said a Sony Pictures spokesperson in a statement. "We
vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks’ assertion that this material belongs in
the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security, and
privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees."

U.S. officials confirmed that the North Korean government was behind the
attack as retaliation over Sony Pictures' release of "The Interview," a
comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen about a fictional attempt to
assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Following hacker threats, Sony yanked the film from theatrical release, but
later put it on video-on-demand platforms and in select theaters due to
public backlash.

Executives, including Sony Pictures' former Co-chairman Amy Pascal, came
under scrutiny after hackers released confidential emails that contained
insensitive remarks about prominent figures in the industry as well as
President Obama.

Hackers also leaked digital files that contained confidential information.
These files contained about 47,000 Social Security numbers of current or
former full-time Sony employees, contractors and actors. Judd Apatow,
Sylvester Stallone and Rebel Wilson were among those whose personal
information was hacked.

In December, lawyer David Boies, writing on Sony's behalf to the Los
Angeles Times and other news organizations, described the leaked material
as "stolen information" and called on media outlets to destroy emails or
other Sony documents in their possession.

WikiLeaks archives detail everything from "connections and alignments
between Sony Pictures Entertainment and the U.S. Democratic Party" to
examples of Sony "collecting 'intelligence" on rival pictures, such as
Oliver Stone's "Snowden."

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