U.S. federal investigators link North Korea to Sony hacking

U.S. federal investigators have connected North Korea to the recent Sony hacking, according to an official in Washington.

The official, who was not authorized to openly discuss an ongoing criminal case, spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday. U.S. intelligence officials said much the same thing to The New York Times.

That development came the same day Sony Pictures Entertainment announced it had halted next week’s planned release of Seth Rogen’s latest film The Interview.

Sony decided not to go ahead with the planned Dec. 25 theatrical release after most North American movie theatre operators, including the two largest in Canada, pulled the flick in response to threats against cinemas issued earlier this week by the purported Sony hackers.

“We have decided not to move forward with the planned Dec. 25 theatrical release,” the Culver City, Calif.-based unit of Sony Corp. said in an email. “We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theatergoers.

Until Wednesday, the Obama administration had been saying it was not immediately clear who might have been responsible for the computer break-in. North Korea has publicly denied it was involved.

The unidentified hackers, who call themselves Guardians of Peace, had demanded that Sony cancel its upcoming release of the Vancouver-born Rogen’s movie, a comedy that includes a gruesome scene depicting the assassination of North Korea’s leader.

Federal investigators are expected to make an announcement in the near future showing the connection between North Korea and the hacking, the anonymous U.S. official told AP.

Here in Canada, Cineplex Entertainment and Landmark Cinemas Canada released statements within 20 minutes of each other late Wednesday afternoon citing the safety concerns as the main reason behind the delayed release.

Pat Marshall, vice-president of communications and investor relations at Cineplex — the country’s largest movie theatre chain — called the threats directed at theatres an “unprecedented and complex situation.”

“Cineplex takes seriously its commitment to the freedom of artistic expression, but we want to reassure our guests and staff that their safety and security is our No. 1 priority,” she said in an emailed statement.

The country’s second largest movie theatre chain, Landmark Cinemas Canada, which operates predominantly on the West Coast, was working closely with appropriate security and law enforcement agencies to guard against the threats, said Neil Campbell, president and CEO.

The announcement from the two companies — Cineplex also has venues in the United States — is the latest hit the movie has taken since the hackers threatened moviegoers Tuesday with violence reminiscent of the of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made,” said the hackers. “The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001.”

Their message continued: “We recommend you keep yourself distant from the (cinemas screening the movie) at that time.”

For the first time, these threats escalate the campaign against Sony Pictures, which produced the movie, beyond corporate espionage since the company suffered a major hack in late November.

Speculation about a North Korean connection to the Sony hacking had centered on that country’s angry denunciation of the movie, which stars Rogen and James Franco as members of a television crew enlisted by a CIA agent to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Over the summer, North Korea warned that the film’s release would be an “act of war that we will never tolerate.” It said the U.S. would face “merciless” retaliation.

On Tuesday, Landmark’s Sunshine Cinemas cancelled the film’s New York premiere, set for Thursday.

Carmike Cinemas was the first to cancel all its planned showings across the U.S. By Wednesday afternoon, the top American theatre circuits — Carmike, Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, ArcLight Cinemas and Cineplex Entertainment — had decided against showing the film.

According to The Associated Press, Sony’s lawyers have told media outlets that the hackers’ mission to bring down Sony is focused on preventing distribution of The Interview. The hackers’ earlier attacks involved the online dumping of troves of sensitive personal information concerning thousands of employees.

The moviemaking giant had initially said it would go ahead with the movie, despite telling exhibitors they’re free to pull the film from theatres. But by late Wednesday it has reversed that. Variety reported Sony was weighing releasing the film on premium video on demand to “allow the studio to recoup some of the film’s $42-million budget and tens of million in promotion and advertising expenditures.”

The cinemas that have cancelled The Interview operate more than 20,000 screens in North America. Smaller independent theatres could potentially still show the film.

The hack and subsequent terrorist threats have already started to effect other Hollywood productions. Production company New Regency has scrapped a thriller that was to be set in North Korea and star Steve Carell. It was scheduled to start production in March, but insiders told Deadline that under the current circumstances it make no sense to go ahead with the project.

Some in Hollywood lashed out Wednesday at the theatre operators, calling their decision a capitulation to terrorists.

“It is a disgrace that these theatres are not showing The Interview,” said producer and director Judd Apatow, Rogen’s friend and collaborator. “Will they pull any movie that gets an anonymous threat now?”

Actor Rob Lowe tweeted that he saw Rogen at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Neither of the actors, Lowe wrote, had ever “seen or heard of anything like this.”

“Wow. Everyone caved. The hackers won. An utter and complete victory for them. Wow,” Lowe tweeted.

Former congressman Newt Gingrich replied to Lowe’s tweet, blaming the hack not on the hacker but on the North Korean dictatorship. The breach, Gingrich wrote on the social media site, was an act of war.

“No one should kid themselves,” he posted. “With the Sony collapse America has lost its first cyberwar. This is a very very dangerous precedent.”

With files from The Associated Press