President Barack Obama has approved a new set of economic sanctions against the North Korean government in response to the hacking of Sony Pictures over the film The Interview.
North Korea has already denied involvement in the attack, but the FBI has insisted that the isolated community state backed the hackers. However, cybersecurity experts have expressed doubts, offering up an alternative theory that former Sony employees were behind it.
According to NBC News, the new sanctions target Pyongyang’s intelligence organization, as well as two other agencies and 10 individuals. The White House called these sanctions “a response to the Government of North Korea's ongoing provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies, particularly its destructive and coercive cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.”
Obama, who is currently vacationing in Hawaii, also sent a statement to House Speaker John Boehner to explain his decision, notes CNN.
“The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the Government of North Korea and its activities that threaten the United States and others,” Obama wrote. He determined that North Korea poses a “continuing threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest added in another statement that this was just the “first aspect” of the U.S.’ response.
A group called the Guardians of Peace (GoP) allegedly hacked Sony over its plans to release The Interview, a James Franco/Seth Rogen comedy about a fictional plot to assassinate Kim Jong Un. At first, Sony pulled the film’s release completely, but they posted it online the day before Christmas and released it to just over 300 indie theaters around the country.
image courtesy of Kristin Callahan/ACE/INFphoto.com