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The North Korean government this week was officially blamed by U.S. authorities for a cyber attack that destroyed computer equipment and stole data from Sony Corp. The White House said it was treating the attack as a "serious national security matter" and was contemplating a "proportional response."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the attack to the North Korean government based on similarities "to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed" and the discovery of a "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."
The attack caused significant damage to Sony's networks, generated embarrassing news coverage from the release of personal e-mails, and, coupled with a threat to bomb theaters, led Sony to cancel the release of "The Interview," a comedy about an attempted assassination of Kim Jong-un, North Korea's head of state.
"We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public," Sony said. "Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private e-mails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our...