President Barack Obama said the United States is reviewing whether to put North Korea back onto its lists of state sponsors of terrorism following the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, which U.S. officials blame on the communist nation.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Nation, Obama said he did not consider the hack an act of war, but a very costly, very expensive example of cyber vandalism.
Japan is also condemning the recent hacking attack.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday Japan is maintaining close contact with Washington on the matter.
Suga said cyber-attacks also pose a serious problem to the national security of Japan.
Regarding this case, our nation is coordinating closely with the United States and we support the measures taken by the United States in this regard. Cyber-attacks are a serious problem related to the national security of our nation also, and we strongly criticize the hacking that took place, said Suga.
North Korea denies it was responsible for hacking Sony Pictures’ computer network and posting embarrassing e-mails and other private data.
The hackers call themselves the Guardians of Peace and warned there would be a bitter fate for anyone attending a public showing of the movie “The Interview,” a film in which the CIA hires two journalists to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Sony has canceled the scheduled December 25 release of the satirical comedy.
On Sunday, North Korean state media reported the country’s Policy Department of the National Defense Commission issued a statement saying it is not aware of the country of residence of the hackers. It said is has evidence the Obama administration was involved in the making of “The Interview” and warned that North Korea has already launched a counteraction.
President Obama has criticized the film’s cancellation and warned such digital attacks are something the country will have to adapt to.
Pyongyang has said it can prove it was not involved in the attacks and has warned of grave consequences if Washington fails to accept the invitation to join an investigation.
The United States has rejected the offer and is in talks with China to help block cyber-attacks from Pyongyang.
A U.S. official has said that both the U.S. and China agree that conducting destructive cyber-attacks is outside the norm of a civilized country.
The request could be problematic because Washington has long said Chinese cyber theft has threatened U.S. defense secrets, hurt American companies’ competitiveness and cost American workers jobs.
Sony Pictures chairman Michael Lynton told reporters Friday that the studio had no choice but to cancel the film’s release because American theaters were unwilling to show it. He did, however, tell interviewers that Sony did not give in or cave to the hackers, and is trying to find some format for people to view the film, possibly through a video-on-demand service or over the Internet.