North Korea says
it's not involved in Sony hack; proposes joint probe with US
Published December 20, 2014
North
Korea says it can prove it is not behind the massive Sony Pictures cyberattack
that has led to several e-mail leaks, threats on movie theaters and the
cancellation of the release of the movie “The Interview.”
The
country has also said it proposes a joint investigation with the U.S. on the
attack and if the U.S. does not agree, North Korea warns of “grave
consequences,” state media says.
The
announcement comes as a response to the FBI's statement saying it has enough
information to “conclude that the North Korean government is responsible” for
the actions.
The
bureau said its findings were the result of an investigation that involved
multiple departments and agencies, and were based in part on technical analysis
of the malware used in the attack. The FBI said the malware "revealed
links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously
developed."
Further,
the FBI noticed "significant overlap between the infrastructure used in
this attack and other malicious cyber activity the U.S. government has
previously linked directly to North Korea." For instance, the FBI said
several IP addresses with "known North Korean infrastructure"
communicated with IP addresses "hardcoded" into the malware that
ripped through Sony's systems, deleting data and swiping sensitive information
and rendering thousands of computers inoperable.
The
FBI also said the "tools" used in the attack are similar to those in
a North Korea-led attack against South Korean banks and media outlets last
year.
"We
are deeply concerned about the destructive nature of this attack on a private
sector entity and the ordinary citizens who worked there," the FBI said in
its statement. "Further, North Korea's attack on SPE reaffirms that cyber
threats pose one of the gravest national security dangers to the United States.
Though the FBI has seen a wide variety and increasing number of cyber
intrusions, the destructive nature of this attack, coupled with its coercive
nature, sets it apart.
"North
Korea's actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a U.S. business
and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves. Such acts of
intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior."
Obama
said in a press conference Friday that there was no indication that points to
any other country working with North Korea in the attack.
Obama
vowed Friday: “We will respond.’
Fox
News’ Lucas Tomlinson, Catherine Herridge and Reuters contributed to this
report.
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