Sony Cyber Attack: Hackers Demand Studio Stop Release of 'The Interview'

A group of hackers who broke into Sony Pictures' computers recently, posted a warning message online asking the studio to back off from showing the film, "The Interview", or be ready to face a war.

The hackers, who call themselves the Guardians of Peace (GOP), posted a message on GitHub that read: "We have already given our clear demand to the management team of SONY, however, they have refused to accept. It seems that you think everything will be well, if you find out the attacker, while no reacting to our demand. We are sending you our warning again. Do carry out our demand if you want to escape us. And, Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War! You, SONY & FBI, cannot find us. We are perfect as much. The destiny of SONY is totally up to the wise reaction & measure of SONY," Business Insider reports.

Even though the hackers have not mentioned the name of the film directly, it is pretty evident what they are pointing at. This is the first time that the hackers have demanded that the studio stop the release of the film.

"The Interview" has been criticized by North Korean authorities. The film is scheduled to release widely on 25 December. It is a comedy about an assassination plot against North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un. It shows James Franco and Seth Rogen playing television journalists who have been enlisted by the CIA to murder Jong-un while doing an interview with him.

The hackers have already released many secret documents about salaries and other details of Sony employees after breaking into the studio's computers. Sony is working with the FBI to trace the source of the cyber attack.

Even as North Korea denied being involved in the attack, it nevertheless praised it. Over the weekend, Bloomberg reported that the hackers used an IP address in Thailand to execute at least part of the attack.

On Monday, the hackers along with the warning also posted a new set of documents including a list of aliases used by celebrities in trying to avoid being detected at a hotel or any public place. It was also revealed that the hackers had supposedly sent an e-mail to Sony Pictures just three days before the cyber attack. It was sent on 21 November to the CEO of the studio, Michael Lynton, Chairwoman Amy Pascal and some other company executives.

The email stresses that Sony Pictures had caused "great damage" and that the hackers were looking for reparation. "Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole," the e-mail reads, Fortune reports.