The group claiming to have carried out the Sony hacking has offered to not release email correspondence from the studio’s employees, provided that they email and ask.
The ‘Guardians of Peace’ allegedly made the offer in a new twist in the ongoing leak of sensitive and embarrassing data stolen from Sony’s computers, now entering its third week.
The following message appeared on Pastebin and Friendpaste, two file-sharing platforms notorious for leaking hacked material:
Message to SPE Staffer, We have a plan to release emails and privacy of the Sony Pictures employees. If you don’t want your privacy to be released, tell us your name and business title to take off your data.
The post also warned that another large data leak is expected in the coming days, described ominously by the hackers as a “Christmas gift.”
Sony revealed that it has been the victim of a wide-reaching hacking on November 24th, and has seen daily updates divulging the inner-workings of the company – along with several embarrassing arguments between its most high-profile employees. Dumped emails also revealed derogatory remarks made by Sony executives about numerous high-profile actors and President Obama.
The latest data dump, 6GB of private emails of Steve O’Dell, the president of Sony Pictures Releasing International, was published on Saturday. The so-called “Christmas gift” will reveal “larger quantities of data. And it will be more interesting,” the ‘Guardians of Peace’ said.
The hackers claim their crimes were motivated by Sony’s upcoming release, ‘The Interview’. The comedy sees Seth Rogen and James Franco’s journalists go to North Korea and attempt to murder leader Kim Jong-Un. The ‘Guardians of Peace’ have described the film as a “movie of terror.”
While North Korea has denied any state involvement in the hacking incident, the country’s officials praised the cyber terrorists, calling it a “righteous deed.”
