The company's boss speaks for the first time regarding the massive cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
- Jan 6, 2015
AceShowbiz - Sony's CEO Kazuo Hirai spoke up for the first time following massive hacking which targeted Sony Pictures Entertainment in late November. Prior to unveiling the company's latest gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, January 5, Hirai addressed the incident and thanked people who showed support to "The Interview", a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco which is believed to be the one which prompted the hack.
"Both Sony Pictures Entertainment former employees and certainly current employees were unfortunately the victims of one of the most malicious cyber-attacks we have known in recent history," he said, as reported by Variety. "I am very proud of all employees and all the partners we've worked with as well who stood up against the extortionate effort of these criminals."
"I have to say freedom of speech, freedom of expression - those are important lifelines of Sony and our entertainment business, and today as you all know, 'The Interview' is available through multiple online venues and through satellite, telecom and cable partners as well as 580 independent theaters alone in the U.S.," he added. "I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the partners who made this possible, the members of the media who supported our launch, but most importantly the people who have come out to see the movie."
"The Interview", which focuses on two TV journalists who are sent to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un by the CIA, was pulled from theaters before being released digitally and in select theaters. President Obama's administration has ordered sanctions against North Korea which is believed to be the one behind the attack.
The country, however, denied their involvement in the hacking and slammed the sanctions. "The policy persistently pursued by the U.S. to stifle the DPRK, groundlessly stirring up bad blood toward it, would only harden its will and resolution to defend the sovereignty of the country," a spokesperson told the country's official Korean Central News Agency on Sunday.
