Did Kim Jung Un Have Sony Hacked As An Act Of War / Retalliation? AKA Little Kim Cybertantrum?

Hi ATS!

Over the past few days I am sure that many or most of you have become aware that Sony was hacked and that a number of unreleased films were pirated in the process - along with what are claimed to be sensitive, internal corporate documents.

The hack was originally claimed to be from a group calling themselves the "Guardians of Peace". But now Sony has other ideas...

Sony thinks that Kim Jung Un might be the culprit ( or at least the force behind the crime ).

What is it that would pit the North Korean dictator and his regime against a company most know for video games and superhero films? Glad you asked! You see an upcoming comedy called "The Interview" is a spoof about two reporters allowed into North Korea to do an interview with The Glorious Leader himself. A film promoted by Sony...

Could an upcoming Seth Rogen-James Franco satire about North Korea have triggered last week’s devastating computer attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment?

But Sony has not identified the source of the takedown, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. Among the theories investigators are checking is that North Korea, or someone operating on its behalf, launched the cyber attack in retribution for “The Interview,” another knowledgeable individual told TheWrap. The upcoming Sony comedy film features Rogen and Franco as journalists who land an interview with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and are then asked by the CIA to assassinate him.

In a letter written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam accused the United States of sponsoring terrorism and committing an act of war by allowing the production and distribution of “The Interview.”

“To allow the production and distribution of such a film on the assassination of an incumbent head of a sovereign state should be regarded as the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war,” Ja wrote in June. In addition, KCNA, the official news agency in North Korea, quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman in June as promising a “merciless counter-measure” if the film is released.

Source

While there are other theories floating - including disgruntled ex Sony employees or just random hackers who found an exploit. This theory has meat to chew on. North Korea is infamous for it's passive/aggressive shows of power - and a hack like this fits, perfectly, the sort of behavior we've come to expect from anyone with the surname Kim Jung.

More to the point, however, this gives us a glimpse into an evolving truth and future - where Corporations become active combatants / sponsors of warfare. Currently they do so under the guise of under-the-table funding to extant Governments... but now the lines are blurring. How soon before we hear an announcement that Sony Security forces have invaded North Korea?

Obviously this is not something that will happen tomorrow, or next month. But in coming years? Nation States at war with Corporations could become a normal thing.

In this particular battle - are we seeing the first shots fired across a bow? If so, where does it all lead?

Good for a laugh and some deep futuristic thought.

Thanks ATS!

*Sighs a BIG breath of relief*

Thanks Heff...

Was starting to get a bit deeply pissed off with the old fashioned McCarthy fans that get their intellectual erections in slagging of Russia and have been plaguing and chucking out propaganda over ATS for the past month or so...

This makes a fresh change that we talk about North Korea and little big man that has an unfashionable hair cut and a tendance to go over the top with his Mars Bars...

Do Sony not have factories in South Korea... Hummmmmm... Wonder who helps the Sony SK subsiduries?

Kindest respects

Rodinus

probably they got bored of watching the same movies over and over and over and wanted some blockbuster released after 1970.
Let's hope they get a hold of jurassic park.
they will probably think the dinosaurs are real and stop messing with us.

As for the movie, i think it is in bad taste that they are using his actual name.
you know that if someone made a movie about killing some Barak Obama that s#it would not fly.
it's a pointless provocation

a reply to: Hefficide

Lil Kim has no problems with a film . He can always give up his day job of benevolent dictator and play professional sport , lets say golf . I am told he is very good at that .

originally posted by: IShotMyLastMuse
probably they got bored of watching the same movies over and over and over and wanted some blockbuster released after 1970.
Let's hope they get a hold of jurassic park.
they will probably think the dinosaurs are real and stop messing with us.

As for the movie, i think it is in bad taste that they are using his actual name.
you know that if someone made a movie about killing some Barak Obama that s#it would not fly.
it's a pointless provocation

Little Kim will continue to provoke (including having his name in a film...) and never do anything.... I think we all know that by now... a bit like those darned pinko commie Ruskies with their nukes since the 50s Huh?

By Cripes... The James Bond Movies to start with as well as other Hollywood blockbusters had great fun with the Russians and Koreans... WE in the West are no worse...

In a way... I am glad that Lil Kim kept this to a Cyber Tantrum... as least he isn't sending his boys n girls out to middle East countries every once in a while to be killed/injured and also to kill/injure (apart from insurgents)... hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians... (Like to see REAL photographic and video evidence that Lil Kim is doing the same thing?)... Up until now... Only vague reports in MSM...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

Team America World Police used Kim Jung Il and nothing horrible happened other than endless bouts of laughter.

a reply to: TheBloodRed

Ahh, but Kim Jung Un was an established Great Leader who challenged the west many times over - and ( according to NK rhetoric and propaganda ) whipped us solidly.

Kim Jung Un has had a very difficult start and the threat of a coup has lingered over him since day one. There are those in his inner circle ( read Daddy's advisors ) who are surely recommending that he be more like his father and take on the west with all of the zeal expected of a Dear Leader.

Kim Jung Un has a reputation to make and a name to set into the stones of history.

I had read that if North Korea was involved, the likely culprits would have been Chinese hackers hired by the North Korean state. I don't know why Kim Jong-Un would be personally responsible...he has more important things to do than order a couple of hackers to target Sony...

That said, i think the possibility of North Korea's involvement is just as likely as any black hat hacking group. Sony has been targeted by independent hackers in the past, so i wouldn't discount that factor. I would say that this does seem much more extreme though. The hacking has disrupted many international offices of Sony, and its employees have been banned from connecting to the WiFi or logging into the computers. Sony employees will have to work for three weeks with pen and paper...

So, it could be North Korea, or it could be independent hackers. Whoever they are though, they seem to be well versed in this stuff.

Maybe he upset they hold back his recording career

a reply to: Hefficide

Why are unreleased films being stored on computers anyway?
And why do these computers have an internet connection at all?
Just sounds like this was something just waiting to happen. The digital age is so flimsy.

I have seen the clips and look forward to seeing the movie. I won't spend money to go to the theatre, it's not what I'd consider to be a big screen movie. But I'll rent it 'on demand' when it comes around.

Funny thing .... by North Korea hacking Sony, they are giving the movie free publicity. I bet Sony loves it. North Korea doesn't understand capitalism and Hollywood .. any publicity is good publicity, and N. Korea is giving lots of free international publicity.

a reply to: Hefficide

Ill say it like this: With everything ive been sensing in the last year im almost wondering if there is going to be some big false flag hack attack on US citizens and or people around the world to start WW3 or to depopulate.

I just posted this on Rodinous' thread but it might be better here.

I don't think it's North Korea at all. I think that might be a deflection and I'm quite serious about that. I was poking at this last night and came across the below. In an article via the Verge, where they made contact with a possible member of Guardians of Peace, the group claiming the attack, this was their statement:

"We Want equality [sic]. Sony doesn't. It's an upward battle...Sony doesn't lock their doors, physically, so we worked with other staff with similar interests to get in."

In other words, it looks like somebody within Sony Pictures let GOP in and that doesn't sound necessarily North Korean. No mention of the movie at all either.

The hacked image, itself, contained a note:

The image was covered with the phrase "Hacked by #GOP," beneath which was a list of instructions and demands. The note said that Sony was already aware of the group's demands and that the group would release Sony's "secrets and top secrets" if they did not comply by last night.

www.theverge.com...

They have also called Michael Lynton a "criminal". Who is Lynton outside of being a CEO for Sony?

Michael Lynton Wiki

Lynton is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the UK government's Film Policy Review group. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Film Institute, as well as the boards of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and the RAND Corporation.

Council on Foreign Relations

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), founded in 1921, is a United States nonprofit, 4900 member organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. Its membership has included senior politicians, more than a dozen Secretaries of State, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, and senior media figures.

RAND Corporation

RAND Corporation (Research ANd Development) is a "research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous." Formed after World War II to connect military planning with research and development decisions, it separated from Douglas Aircraft Company on on May 14, 1948 and became an independent, nonprofit organization. It is financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the health care industry, universities and private individuals.

Puts a whole different texture to a few things in my book and could explain some of the lack of clarity in the major media articles. "They haven't said what they want" or pinning it on NK. Something smells off about it all and I found Lynton's connections, considering what my grandpa, the colonel, told me about think tanks to be very interesting.

The woman in the GOP image picture on the hack is Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures. Outside of her being noted as one of the most powerful women in the world, nothing really stands out there. However, both she and Lynton also made significant spending cuts at Sony. This also points to the possibility of that insider(s) being claimed by the Verge source.

The cuts are likely to result in layoffs. Lynton said the studio had laid off 800 people in the last four years.

articles.latimes.com...

If you're looking to shake up a hornet's nest, layoffs and cuts are where it starts. This is probably the reason why GOP got in if it was an "inside job" and would explain the duos mocking inclusion in the GOP image.

Just an update but oh yeah, this was personal. Apparently, Sony may not have agreed to the terms by the hackers and so a few emails got leaked today. The emails have been basically confirmed with both Scott Rudin and Amy Pascal apologizing publicly.

I'm curious as to whether or not Pascal is going to be able to maintain her position at Sony.

www.buzzfeed.com...
www.buzzfeed.com...

a reply to: WhiteAlice

Odd... I was just reading an article stating that Sony is going to re-edit the film to remove the assassination of Kim Jung Un elements from it. Hunted up a link to the article. Huffpo - but I came across it via Yahoo

originally posted by: IShotMyLastMuse
probably they got bored of watching the same movies over and over and over and wanted some blockbuster released after 1970.
Let's hope they get a hold of jurassic park.
they will probably think the dinosaurs are real and stop messing with us.

As for the movie, i think it is in bad taste that they are using his actual name.
you know that if someone made a movie about killing some Barak Obama that s#it would not fly.
it's a pointless provocation

Such a film was made about George W Bush. The secret service didn't allow it to be released in the US but you could probably find it. It was called "Death of a President".

originally posted by: Hefficide
a reply to: WhiteAlice

Odd... I was just reading an article stating that Sony is going to re-edit the film to remove the assassination of Kim Jung Un elements from it. Hunted up a link to the article. Huffpo - but I came across it via Yahoo

Sony Corp. (6758.T) Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai ordered the film "The Interview" to be toned down after Pyongyang denounced it for depicting the assassination of North Korea's leader, according to emails apparently stolen from Sony's Hollywood studio.

Toned down doesn't mean shut down and HIrai, in his position, could've shut it down. Instead, it seems like it was the gore factor as that was what was being toned down persistently in the email exchange between Pascal and Rogen according to this article at Reuters: www.reuters.com...

By October, however, he delivered what he hoped was the final version. "This is it!!! We removed the fire from the hair and the entire secondary wave of head chunks," he said. "Please tell us this is over now."

It wouldn't be the first time somebody's artistic view got questioned as going too far without politics being involved. It'd also be nice to see the actual email exchanges instead of interpretations but those keep getting taken down, too, according to reddit.

PS. Took 5 attempts to post that, site kept timing out.

Yeah, you go, Kim! That'll show them!