WikiLeaks has recently reported that crucial Sony Pictures Entertainment data consisting of thousands of documents and emails leaked last year, has been now published. WikiLeaks uploaded 30, 287 documents and 173,132 emails. All the information is presented in a ‘fully searchable format’, as the organization described it.
Thanks to the uploaded files, Sony may be seen as a ‘large, secretive multinational corporation… with ties to the White House… and with connections to the US military- industrial complex’. As unlawfully as it may seem to some people, the non-profits justified their deed accordingly to the fact that Sony is ‘a member of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and a strong lobbyist on issues around internet policy, piracy, trade agreements and copyright issues.’
WikiLeaks team stands by the belief that the secretive archive reveals the inner machinations of an influential multinational company and as such, it truly concerns the public and belongs to it.
The Interview Movie Controversy
One probable reason for the leak is linked to North Korea that is suspected to be the attack’s perpetrator by some researchers. The data breach is believed to be associated with Sony’s release of ‘The Interview’. The movie’s controversial script may be impartially entitled to the leak.
The attackers’ crew is dubbed Guardians of Peace (GOP). Their initial demand prior to the leak is said to be the cancellation of The Interview’s release.
Sony Pictures’ reaction to the security breach is far from pleased. The company’s spokesperson has written ‘the cyber attack was a malicious criminal act’, adding ‘WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting’ the attackers’.
Further Attacks Likely to Follow
As reported by the Guardian, former Senator Chris Dodd who is a chairman of the MPAA agrees that the republication of the data adds up to the possibility of a further attack on the involved sites.
The hacked data consists of confidential business and employees’ details – but movies have also been stricken.
At the end of last year, Sony Pictures appealed media to stop writing about the hack. In addition, the corporation warned that legal actions may have been necessary if the media didn’t comply. Law specialists, however, suggested that Sony’s legal intimidations were unlikely to succeed.