North Korea Denies Hacking Sony Pictures, Calls It A ‘Righteous Deed’

North Korea has been the chief suspect for hacking Sony Pictures, but the country’s official state news channel has now issued a denial. The hack, which has kept Sony computers offline for almost two weeks, remains unsolved. However, the statement from North Korea, while denying involvement in the hacking, does laud the act, calling it a “righteous deed.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. is taking the possibility of North Korea having a role in the hacking seriously. It’s not just an attack on the company, with computers disabled and a few DVD rips stolen and posted on torrent sites. The stolen files also are purported to contain social security numbers of employees, as well as salaries of top executives.

The hackers, going by the name of Guardians of Peace, have also threatened harm to the families of some Sony Pictures employees.

North Korea had, it seems, threatened vengeance on Sony Pictures over the upcoming film The Interview, which mocks Kim Jong Un. Now the U.S. is looking into those threats, and into the hacking.

According to Engadget, KCNA, the official state news outlet in North Korea, has made a statement about the matter. They say they had no role in the hacking, but call it a “righteous deed,” and say that perhaps whoever is truly behind the Sony Pictures breach is a sympathizer.

The hacking included a threat.

Hacked By #GOP

Warning:

We’ve already warned you, and this is just a beginning.
We continue till our request be met.
We’ve obtained all your Internal data, Including your secrets and top secrets.
If you don’t obey us, we’ll release data shown below to the world.
Determine what will you do till November the 24th, 11:00 PM (GMT).

Though Sony denies any knowledge of a previous warning or demand, it’s possible that North Korea’s previous statements about the movie could be what the text refers to.

It is known now that the hacking was done from a WiFi network in a Bangkok hotel, and there is some speculation that Chinese hackers could be the culprits, working on North Korea’s behalf, and thus allowing North Korea to honestly claim innocence of any direct action.

Sony employees say that the attack came shortly after massive layoffs, but also after an increase in cyber security protocols, and that it’s unlikely the layoffs were related to the hacking. The hacking of Sony Pictures remains under investigation.