North Korea Responds With Fury To US Sanctions Over Sony Hack

[Purveyor]

Source: Guardian UK

Haroon Siddique and agencies
Sunday 4 January 2015 06.29 EST

North Korea has furiously denounced the United States for imposing sanctions in retaliation for the Pyongyang regime’s alleged cyber-attack on Sony Pictures.

North Korea’s foreign ministry reiterated that it did not have any role in the breach of tens of thousands of confidential Sony emails and business files and accused the US of “groundlessly” stirring up hostility towards Pyongyang. He said the new sanctions would not weaken the country’s 1.2 million-strong military.

“The policy persistently pursued by the US to stifle the DPRK [North Korea], groundlessly stirring up bad blood towards it, will only harden its will and resolution to defend the sovereignty of the country,” North’s state-run KCNA news agency quoted the unnamed spokesman as saying on Sunday.

On Friday, the US sanctioned 10 North Korean government officials and three organisations, including Pyongyang’s primary intelligence agency and state-run arms dealer, in what the White House described as an opening move in the response towards the Sony cyber-attack. It was the first time the US has imposed sanctions on another nation in direct retaliation for hacking an American company. Barack Obama also warned that the US was considering whether to put the authoritarian regime back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/04/north-korea-fury-us-sanctions-sony

[elzenmahn]

1. A couple of things

A couple of observations:

"It was the first time the US has imposed sanctions on another nation in direct retaliation for hacking an American company".

>> Sony is not an American company - it's Japanese. Funny that the Guardian missed that....hmmmm.

"Barack Obama also warned that the US was considering whether to put the authoritarian regime back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism."

>> What's up with them ever getting off of that list in the first place? It's what they are - it's what they do.

>>And as for DPRK's "vociferous" objections - would you believe a word that emanated from the upper frontal orifice of their Fearless Leader? I wouldn't...

[Veilex]

4. "Sony is not an American company - it's Japanese" - That was my reaction as well

[tinrobot]

5. Sony Pictures Entertainment is a US corporation

The company was originally Columbia Pictures. Sony bought it from Coca-Cola in the 80's.

They own the old MGM lot in Culver City, produce US-based movies, and have produced TV shows such as Seinfeld, among many others. As such, they employ tens of thousands of US citizens.

So, while technically, they may be Japanese owned, the hack impacted a US corporation and its US employees.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Oh, North Korea! They react with fury to anything. That said...

...there appears to be some doubt they actually did it.

[Hoppy]

3. I wonder if N. Korea did launch the cyber attack. Wasn't there an FBI report

released last week that indicated it was an inside job?

Then again, we need a war to keep the war machine in $$$.

[razorman]

7. Kim is probably taking the rap for the actions of a couple of 14-year-olds

in San Bernadino.

[PSPS]

8. Actually, it's assumed now that this was the work of a disgruntled employee.

[former9thward]

23. Assumed by who?

Internet bloggers?

[TxVietVet]

12. US Intelligence has plenty of evidence it discovered.

The US government is not going to release that information to the general public so as everyone would know how they did it.
TOP SECRET. You don't have a need to know.

[MyNameGoesHere]

15. I am pretty sure US companies have a need to know

in order to protect themselves from future attacks. To not provide that information would be criminal and stupid. Now the general public SHOULD be interested because our government lies to us and makes us go to wars over silly shit like this. So yes I HAVE A NEED TO KNOW.

[hughee99]

26. Unless they got in the same way the NSA does,

in which case the government doesn't want that to be fixed.

[former9thward]

24. No, the FBI report said it was N. Korea.

The people who say inside job have produced no evidence whatsoever.

[newfie11]

6. Seems over the top

To have an international blow up over something so stupid and not proven. So what. Let the company ( Sony) handle it. The free publicity they've received is priceless.
Meanwhile our CIA/NSA is listening to to heads of state. While Maggie was pissed off about it, I didn't see this much hoopla.
Me thinks this theres more to the story.

[PSPS]

9. "Let the company handle it."

Let the company ( Sony) handle it.

I agree. Sadly, though, we now live in a corporate state whose sole purpose is to act on behalf of corporations, even if it involves thinking up a false pretext and getting the "president" to promote its products.

[L0oniX]

18. Fear the Sony military with it's indestructible CGI war machines.

[newfie11]

19. +1 nt

[KoKo]

10. Aren't there still questions about that Hack?

What is USA's rush to impose sanctions. We are looking like bullies with these constant sanctions when there are obvious questions about FBI Report? Same thing over Ukraine.

What happened to Diplomacy. Sending seasoned diplomats into negotiations.

PBO admitted "Sanctions didn't work after 50 years with Cuba" so he looks hypocritical.

[L0oniX]

17. We should send our Sony uhm err US diplomats over there immediately.

Wait ...uhm ...didn't some freaky looking basket ball dude already do that? What's next ...we go to war for Sony? We'll probably have to wait on that until the oligarchy completely takes over our Democracy ...which shouldn't be too long from now.

[davidthegnome]

11. Heh.

That's pretty impotent fury. North Korea won't do anything without the backing of China - and China won't do much because they need us to buy all their poorly made shit. I always thought of "fury" as being like hopping mad, I don't know... angry enough to chew nails, shouting, getting ready for war, punching someone in the nose. A more appropriate headline might have been, "North Korea blah blah. Nobody cares, but we needed a catchy headline to snag some viewers".

Fuck them. I don't care if they were responsible for it or not, I don't even care what we do about it. This is all pretty damned pointless.

[mainer]

13. A diplomatic crisis over this stupid movie?

First of all, we don't know that North Korea was behind the hack.
Second, the movie is stupid.
Third, imagine if any country made a film depicting the assassination of our sitting President. We would be outraged and up in arms. The film doesn't just joke ABOUT the killing of Kim -- it actually shows his gruesome death. Not only is it not funny, it's in horrific taste. I am appalled by it. Just turn the tables and think about it.

[Adrahil]

14. So what?

People make terrible, tasteless movies all the time. Get over it.

World Police was better.

[former9thward]

25. Really?

A film WAS made about the assassination of our sitting President -- George Bush. Death of a President was made in 2006. When it was criticized posters on DU thought it was just fine -- free speech and all.

[L0oniX]

16. Well that's our American government for ya ...fighting for the corporations against the bad guys.

Will we go to war for Sony too? It's a joke ...right?

[randome]

20. Doing nothing is probably not an option.

Sanctions are pretty much automatic once the country of origin is identified. Despite what some other hacking group says, I doubt we're imposing sanctions without understanding their appropriateness.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[L0oniX]

22. Corporations will do what they want to do and our government will do what the corporations want.

I'm sure Cuban like sanctions will teach them not to hack into corporations.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

21. Uh, oh. We're in a heap of trouble.

From The history of Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth police cars

[samsingh]

27. isn't that what they always do - respond with fury