Sony Pictures Threatens Media Outlets: ‘Delete The Information Now, Or Else!’
Sony Pictures Entertainment isn’t happy about the massive packages of stolen data being released, and they aren’t above going after media outlets who traffic in the information.
The latest news from the ongoing Sony Pictures Entertainment hacking scandal was reported by the New York Times. In a letter reportedly sent to the New York Times and several other media outlets, David Boies, a lawyer for Sony, said that the company “does not consent to your possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading or making any use” of any information obtained from the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment files which occurred November 24.
The strongly-worded three-page letter arrived just as the pace of information leaks from the hacking accelerated. Over the weekend, embarrassing emails between Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Amy Pascal were released, which contained what are described as insensitive comments made by Pascal about Angelina Jolie, Kevin Hart, and President Barack Obama.
Pascal has since apologized for her comments, but that has done nothing to stem the release of information.
Guardians of Peace, the group that hacked the Sony Pictures Entertainment system and possibly ended a few careers in the process, just promised a “Christmas gift” to media outlets. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the gift will be larger quantities of data from Sony. Reportedly, the Guardians of Peace have just on demand of Sony: Stop the upcoming release of The Interview.
That single demand has many, including the FBI, believing that the Guardians of Peace represent or are backed by the North Korean government. The North Korean government has openly expressed displeasure for The Interview, which centers around an interview and attempted assassination of Kim Jong-un, but they have denied involvement in the hacking.
The hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment emails has provided a wealth of information the company would rather not have the public know. The information stolen from Sony includes financial records, detailed medical records of employees and their family members, and an early script for the upcoming James Bond filmSpectre.
As of December 14, Sony has not announced plans to stop release of The Interview, or to stop promoting the film. With the release date set for December 25, it may be too late to do either. Instead, Sony has responded by trying to stop people from downloading the files with denial of service attacks, and threatening members of the media who released the information already stolen.
The effort by Guardians of Peace to hack Sony Pictures Entertainment emails is ongoing, so the damage may not be over. Mike Paul works with entertainment executives in crisis, a kind of real life Olivia Pope.
Paul said, “Sony’s in big trouble. To me, this is Hollywood’s Edward Snowden moment. And what the problem with that is we don’t know what’s coming next.”
