Sony Asks Media To Stop Reporting Content Of Stolen Emails, Documents From Cyber Attack
CULVER CITY (CBSLA.com) — Officials at Sony Pictures Studios apologized to employees Monday for the recent cyber attack that drew national attention pertaining to sensitive information that was leaked.
Sony is also reportedly sending letters to several media outlets requesting journalists to stop publishing information about the content of stolen emails and documents involved in the attack.
KCAL9's Serene Branson spoke with Ted Johnson, senior editor at Variety, who said he received a letter from Sony, which demanded they avoid the documents or destroy them.
"Variety's position has been that they're very much within the bounds of issues that are public concern," said Johnson. "Reporting on the contents of emails, we're not talking about personal healthcare information; we're not talking about private lives. We're talking about information that actually shows business in practice."
Johnson explained that First Amendment and previous cases have given employees of Variety the legal right to continue reporting emails between executives about upcoming films or talent negotiations.
"The hackers have been releasing troves of information," he added. "They'll just dump it at one point, and then announce it to the media."
Sony's network was breached in November by a group called Guardians of Peace, which is believed to have ties to North Korea.
Authorities believe the group is angry about the film "The Interview," which centers around the assassination attempt against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Satnam Narang, a cyber security expert at Symantec Security Response, explained he thinks Sony was hacked by opening targeted attachments or a new website profiling method called "watering hole."
"Those paste sites contain links to file sharing services where you can download these bits of information," said Narang. "They'll implant some malicious code so that the next time people from that organization visit that website, they'll get infected with malware, and then they'll be on their systems."
Sony's lawyer could not be reached for a comment.
RELATED: Rug Is Pulled (Literally) At Star-Studded Premiere Movie Event As Scandal Rocks Sony
Sony: Expect No Interviews At 'The Interview' Premiere
FBI Visits Sony Studios After Massive Cyber Attack
Report: Threatening Email Sent To Sony Employees
Studios Scramble To Beef Up Security After Sony Cyber Attack
