The hackers who targeted Sony Pictures over its Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy The Interview may be setting their sights on the American media now. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have reportedly sent a warning that major news outlets could be the next victims.
In the bulletin to law enforcement agencies around the country, the FBI and Homeland Security outline exactly what happened to Sony over the film, which is already public knowledge. However, ABC News reports that the government agencies also warned that the Guardians of Peace (GOP) - the group that allegedly hacked Sony - have also targeted at least one news outlet “and may extend to other such organizations in the near future.”
The Intercept first obtained the bulletin and posted a copy of it. THe news organization is not named in the bulletin, but known as USPER2.
The bulletin cites a Dec. 20 message from the GOP “posted Pastebin messages that specifically taunted the FBI and USPER2 for the ‘quality’ of their investigations and implied an additional threat. No specific consequence was mentioned in the posting.”
The bulletin does predict that the GOP will release more emails and documents from Sony “to keep pressure on” and “possibly to get the company to withhold further distribution of the movie, destroy all copies of the film or publicly apologize for its production of The Interview.”
U.S. officials have officially blamed North Korea for the attack on Sony Pictures, but some experts have expressed doubt. Still, The FBI insisted on Tuesday that Pyongyang was behind it.
The Interview is a comedy about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
image of James Franco courtesy of Dara Kushner/INFphoto.com