Companies surrender to terrorists over The Interview.

[Zaune]

I doubt even North Korea is prepared to start a nuclear war they would lose over a movie. And if they are that crazy, there's probably going to be a war anyway, especially since success now will encourage them to make threats.

And at the same time, I doubt the Obama administration is prepared to start a war with North Korea which nobody would win except the undertakers over a few nail-bombs in cinemas.

[Metahive]

I doubt even North Korea is prepared to start a nuclear war they would lose over a movie. And if they are that crazy, there's probably going to be a war anyway, especially since success now will encourage them to make threats.

Eh, compared to stuff they pulled in the past, including an assassination attempt on SK's president this is nothing. Their propaganda might be completely deluded nonsense, but this doesn't mean NK's leadership is ignorant of the reality of the situation and how much trolling of the rest of the world they can afford.

[The Romulan Republic]

I doubt even North Korea is prepared to start a nuclear war they would lose over a movie. And if they are that crazy, there's probably going to be a war anyway, especially since success now will encourage them to make threats.

And at the same time, I doubt the Obama administration is prepared to start a war with North Korea which nobody would win except the undertakers over a few nail-bombs in cinemas.

Well, the last time terrorists with support from a foreign government launched a major attack on American soil, it set off a series of wars and civil liberties violations that is still on-going.

Edit: Admittedly the enemy did not have nukes then and Obama is not Bush.

[SCRawl]

Under circumstances such as this, few if any theatres will be ordering the movie, since showing the movie could potentially result in fewer movie-goers overall, so there would be no money to be made for Sony. It's probably a smart "bottom line" move for Sony and for everyone in the industry. Personally I really dislike the message it sends (which is "threaten people and we'll do what you want") but the move makes sense from Sony's point of view.

[Zaune]

Admittedly the enemy did not have nukes then and Obama is not Bush.

And more to the point, the enemy then didn't have stupidly large amounts of pre-positioned tube artillery pointed at the greater metropolitan area of one of the region's largest cities, or a population so thoroughly indoctrinated that going full Michael Z. Williamson might actually turn out to be necessary and proportionate.

[Lagmonster]

While the capitulation for not showing it was more on the theatres than Sony, I kind of assumed that Sony would be cautious mostly in order to discourage the hackers from releasing more personal, damaging information. It's one thing to swallow the investment of a shitty low-grade comedy, but I doubt they want to take a hit on one of their big blockbuster franchises.

[Azazal]

Am I the only one wondering if the the threats were real?

Let me put my cynical tinfoil hat on here.. ok all set.

From what I have heard, the movie isn't that great to begin with, and most likely if it was released, it would tank. The hack gives Sony the perfect out. They can scratch the movie and not take a financial loss. Hell, they might be write it off for as a tax deduction and get an insurance settlement off of it as well.

The a few month down the road, they can hype it up for theater or home release as "The film North Korea doesn't want you to see."

And, off come the tinfoil, thank you.

[Joun_Lord]

Well with all the movies and crap released by the hack that was said to be over the Interview and the Interview not being one of the movies released, one does have to wonder. The movie not being released by legal or illegal means nobody knows whether the movie is shit, so when they cancel it it doesn't look like they are just canceling a movie that would bomb harder then B-52s on Arc Light missions.

I doubt Sony did the hacking themselves but they could have used the hack as an excuse to take the movie round back and cap it. They blame Best Korea, already making noise over the movie, for the hack even if they didn't do it and say they can't release the movie in the interest of public safety. Try to score some points to try to balance out their tarnished image thanks to the wack hack attack Zack and maybe avoid a financial loss on the movie.

Even if the Norks didn't do this its not like they won't try to take credit for this anyway and even if they did deny it nobody is going to believe them, either way Sony has their bases covered.

I doubt thats whats happening, their is probably a good explanation for the Interview not being released like maybe they kept it off servers in anticipation of the possibility of a Nork cyber-attack, and they just aren't releasing either on their own or by pressure from upstairs (thanks Obama!!!!!) but it does look awfully suspicious.

[Patroklos]

Admittedly the enemy did not have nukes then and Obama is not Bush.

And more to the point, the enemy then didn't have stupidly large amounts of pre-positioned tube artillery pointed at the greater metropolitan area of one of the region's largest cities, or a population so thoroughly indoctrinated that going full Michael Z. Williamson might actually turn out to be necessary and proportionate.

This meme again?

NK is not going to war over this. Not this time. What they ask for next time will be more brazen and ridiculous. If North Korean influence is proven some response needs to be made. Sanctions, foreign holdings crackdown, whatever.

You know, NK is not immune to hacking and other technology attacks themselves.

[Lost Soal]

Well with all the movies and crap released by the hack that was said to be over the Interview and the Interview not being one of the movies released, one does have to wonder. The movie not being released by legal or illegal means nobody knows whether the movie is shit, so when they cancel it it doesn't look like they are just canceling a movie that would bomb harder then B-52s on Arc Light missions.

I doubt Sony did the hacking themselves but they could have used the hack as an excuse to take the movie round back and cap it. They blame Best Korea, already making noise over the movie, for the hack even if they didn't do it and say they can't release the movie in the interest of public safety. Try to score some points to try to balance out their tarnished image thanks to the wack hack attack Zack and maybe avoid a financial loss on the movie.

Even if the Norks didn't do this its not like they won't try to take credit for this anyway and even if they did deny it nobody is going to believe them, either way Sony has their bases covered.

I doubt thats whats happening, their is probably a good explanation for the Interview not being released like maybe they kept it off servers in anticipation of the possibility of a Nork cyber-attack, and they just aren't releasing either on their own or by pressure from upstairs (thanks Obama!!!!!) but it does look awfully suspicious.

Let me get this straight. You think it suspicious that the movie which North Korea didn't want released was NOT released by hackers who, reportedly, hacked Sony on behalf of North Korea. They don't want it seen so of course they won't dilliberately put it out on the internet for everyone to see.

[TheHammer]

Should we put hundreds or thousands of people at risk?

IF there is a real risk of a terror attack being pulled off should we just ignore the risk?

On the other hand, if this is caving into empty threats yes, bad Sony! Bad theaters! Naughty naughty!

And, as I said, it may be a matter of simply delaying the release until things calm down - would that change your opinion of the matter?

Even if the threats were legitimate you only invite more threats by capitulating. There is a reason the US government doesn't negotiate with terrorists. Unfortunately, individual companies are free to be gutless cowards. Personally, I suspect this actually has more to do with threats of material the hackers would release than any threat of violence. I think Sony is probably done as a motion picture company. Too much baggage.

That being said, even if there were some legitimacy to a violent threat, the answer is YES we take the risk vs capitulation. Millions are at risk every day. Besides, North Korea doesn't have the balls to pull off an sort of attack over a movie. Human rights violations might draw world condemnation, rattling your sabre with a missile test might draw rebuke, but killing Americans in a terrorist attack on American Soil is going to ensure your country ends up a smoking ruin in the ensuing retaliation. They know this.

[The Romulan Republic]

Holywood continues to retreat with its tail between its legs.

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainme ... _sony_hack

"Team America: World Police" won't strike a blow for freedom of speech after all.

Alamo Drafthouse defiantly replaced "The Interview" with a Dec. 27 screening of the 2004 satire after "The Interview" was yanked from screens over a terrorist threat. However, Paramount Pictures, the studio behind "Team America," will not offer it for exhibition.

"We can confirm that the screening of 'Team America' was canceled as the film was pulled from release," Alamo Drafthouse said in a statement. "We are issuing refunds to those that purchased tickets."

It's a sign that Hollywood may be wary of further stirring up the politically charged situation surrounding "The Interview." The film centers on a television talking head who gets roped into a plot to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Distributor Sony Pictures pulled the film from theaters after hackers released internal company documents and threatened to attack theaters that played the film and moviegoers. North Korea has been linked to the cyber-attack.

"Team America: World Police" is equally provocative. Kim Jong-il, the late North Korean dictator, is impaled on a Pickelhaube at the end of that picture, so it's probably not a favorite in Pyongyang.

"Team America's" cancellation comes after New Regency canceled production of a North Korea-set thriller that was set to star Steve Carell.

There wasn't even a threat against this film, was their? And we see that this is not an isolated case of backing down to protect the public's safety but a trend.

I am boycotting Paramount and encourage others to do the same.

Edit: I fixed the link.

[Grumman]

I am boycotting Paramount and encourage others to do the same.

Well, that's 8.94% of the film industry gone. Maybe this is the next stage in media convergence - not ownership, but control by threats of violence.

[The Romulan Republic]

I hope that a boycott will cause Paramount to grow a backbone and do the right thing. But if they have to go out of business because of their cowardice so be it.

[General Zod]

Hypothetical scenario. What would Sony do if someone made threats along the lines of "you will release the film or else."? Which terrorist would come out on top?

[The Romulan Republic]

Hypothetical scenario. What would Sony do if someone made threats along the lines of "you will release the film or else."? Which terrorist would come out on top?

Probably the ones with support from a government with nukes.

And I advise avoiding comments that might encourage someone to make such a threat.

[Irbis]

A state actor can do it in multiple places because they have far more resources.

What resources?

NK can hardly sneak an agent into South Korea these days, much less fucking infiltrate state on another hemisphere complete with alien culture, writing system, and language.

Because of the specter of nuclear retaliation.

What

Ekhm, this is real life, not a game of Crusader Kings.

Eh, compared to stuff they pulled in the past, including an assassination attempt on SK's president this is nothing.

You mean, the one 50 years ago, at the height of cold war, where 35 commandos from elite unit that trained for 2 years preparing for the mission did jack squat and they were all killed or captured.

When both Koreas didn't differ that sharply yet as South's 'president' was unpopular bloody handed dictator and North was the stronger economic power back then. Just like today, eh?

I think I can rest my case.

And more to the point, the enemy then didn't have stupidly large amounts of pre-positioned tube artillery pointed at the greater metropolitan area of one of the region's largest cities, or a population so thoroughly indoctrinated that going full Michael Z. Williamson might actually turn out to be necessary and proportionate.

...

[TheHammer]

It is somewhat ironic that in not showing Team America: World Police "Hollywood" is starting to resemble their portrayal in said movie, if substituting the Studio heads for actors themselves, which to their credit have been very vocally critical of this capitulation by the studios.

[Simon_Jester]

And more to the point, the enemy then didn't have stupidly large amounts of pre-positioned tube artillery pointed at the greater metropolitan area of one of the region's largest cities, or a population so thoroughly indoctrinated that going full Michael Z. Williamson might actually turn out to be necessary and proportionate.

...

North Korea actually does have all those things; crossing swords with it over a trifle is almost certainly a bad idea, because it borders on certainty that many thousands would die even without counting North Korean casualties. And occupying/reconstructing North Korea afterwards would be staggeringly difficult, probably harder than Iraq and the US failed in Iraq.

[The Romulan Republic]

Are you suggesting that its not worth it to confront them them over this movie? If so, my answer is that it may not be worth it over a movie, but it is worth it over threatening terrorism and the principle of freedom of expression.

[Siege]

Those are some pretty great ideals, but Sony is a multi-billion dollar company and probably doesn't give a shit about any of them if they stand to lose money. They aren't obligated to stand up for anything but the profit of their shareholders, and when they run into the consequences of mocking one of the world's most profoundly insane regimes I expect nothing more of them than to re-evaluate their situation and act according to their shareholders' interests.

From their point of view no, it is clearly not in fact worth it to confront them over this movie. I don't fault Sony for that. Standing up for lofty ideals is not anywhere near Sony's core business, and expecting them to do such a thing when it's clear they have a real stake to lose is naive at best.

How much money do you expect companies to lose over freedom of expression? How many jobs lost are acceptable?

[TheHammer]

And more to the point, the enemy then didn't have stupidly large amounts of pre-positioned tube artillery pointed at the greater metropolitan area of one of the region's largest cities, or a population so thoroughly indoctrinated that going full Michael Z. Williamson might actually turn out to be necessary and proportionate.

...

North Korea actually does have all those things; crossing swords with it over a trifle is almost certainly a bad idea, because it borders on certainty that many thousands would die even without counting North Korean casualties. And occupying/reconstructing North Korea afterwards would be staggeringly difficult, probably harder than Iraq and the US failed in Iraq.

You can't simply let this slide, or you invite additional cyber attacks. So you confront them with a proportional response over the movie - ratchet up the economic sanctions, or perhaps even a hacking or two of your own just to let them know there is a price for fucking with American interests.

That being said, if they actually carry out a "terrorist attack" against theaters showing the movie was was threatened, then I suspect we would confront with them with an overwhelmingly devastating military response. But they know this, and despite attempts to appear otherwise they are neither stupid nor crazy - which is why no such attack is ever going to take place. Doing so would utterly isolate them as even their only true ally China would likely back away and leave them to their fate.

But hypothetically speaking, while an all out war would certainly be very destructive, I actually suspect reforming Korea would be easier than Iraq once you've eliminated the existing regime. I suspect that re-integration with the south would likely be welcome as the people would finally have better access to food and trade with no sanctions in place.

You also lack the biggest key ingredient that has made Iraq so problematic (although I think calling it a "failure" is too strong at this point) in that you don't have two large, entrenched religious sects diametrically opposed to one another, and with fanatical militant groups that are impervious to reason or compromise. In contrast to the rather dogmatic situations one encounters in the middle east, Communists tend to be very pragmatic about their situation.

[TheHammer]

Those are some pretty great ideals, but Sony is a multi-billion dollar company and probably doesn't give a shit about any of them if they stand to lose money. They aren't obligated to stand up for anything but the profit of their shareholders, and when they run into the consequences of mocking one of the world's most profoundly insane regimes I expect nothing more of them than to re-evaluate their situation and act according to their shareholders' interests.

From their point of view no, it is clearly not in fact worth it to confront them over this movie. I don't fault Sony for that. Standing up for lofty ideals is not anywhere near Sony's core business, and expecting them to do such a thing when it's clear they have a real stake to lose is naive at best.

How much money do you expect companies to lose over freedom of expression? How many jobs lost are acceptable?

If artistic expression is your business (As SONY pictures is), then you'd damn well better be prepared to fight for it. Failing to release this movie has already caused a MASSIVE negative PR backlash. Americans will forgive a lot, but they will not forgive cowardice and weakness. Boycotts will happen - A great many folks will refuse to see the next Sony Produce picture based on the principles. In addition to that, you've got movie stars lining up and down the block bashing them. Good luck getting any of the big names to produce a movie with your company now that you've bowed to a North Korean dictator.

That all being said, now Sony is saying they will release the film "at some point, in some way". They're claiming that this was their plan all along, but I think its them changing their tune because of a fore mentioned backlash.

[The Romulan Republic]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014 ... s-official

The FBI says it has conclusively tied North Korea to the massive hack of Sony Pictures.

US authorities have been investigating the leak since the beginning of December and had previously stated in public they had been unable to establish a link with North Korea and its notorious Bureau 121 hacking unit.

North Korea has denied involvement with the hack, carried out by a group calling itself Guardians of Peace (GOP). The group has released a slew of highly embarrassing data from Sony, demanding Sony pull the release of The Interview, a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, which depicts the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

In a statement released on Friday, the FBI said a technical analysis of the malignant software, known as malware, used in the attack had been linked to other malware “that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed”. There were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods and compromised networks, the FBI said.

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The FBI also said that the infrastructure used in the Sony attack was similar to other malicious cyber activity aimed at the US that had previously been linked directly to North Korea. For example, the FBI discovered that several internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with known North Korean infrastructure communicated with IP addresses that were hardcoded into the data deletion malware used in this attack.

The tools used in the Sony attack also had similarities to a cyber attack in March 2013 aimed at South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

“We are deeply concerned about the destructive nature of this attack on a private sector entity and the ordinary citizens who worked there. Further, North Korea’s attack on SPE [Sony Pictures Entertainment] reaffirms that cyber threats pose one of the gravest national security dangers to the United States,” the FBI said in a statement.

“North Korea’s actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a US business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves. Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior. The FBI takes seriously any attempt – whether through cyber-enabled means, threats of violence, or otherwise – to undermine the economic and social prosperity of our citizens.”

Pressure for action mounted as secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said: “The cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment was not just an attack against a company and its employees. It was also an attack on our freedom of expression and way of life.”

GOP reportedly sent Sony executives a message on Thursday evening, calling the studio’s Wednesday decision to cancel the release of the controversial film The Interview “very wise”.

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The statement was written in broken English and leaked to CNN. It continued: “Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy.

“And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately.”

Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

Reuters had quoted anonymous federal law enforcement officials saying the hack may have been a collaboration between North Korean and Chinese hackers or that servers in China could have been used to disguise the origins of the attack. But the FBI’s formal statement made no mention of China.

The announcement comes hours before an end-of-year presidential press conference where President Obama is expected to comment on the matter for the first time.

On Thursday the White House described the hack as a “serious national security matter” and said it was considering a proportional response but stopped short of blaming North Korea.

Senator John McCain, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee responsible for the funding and oversight of the department of defense, described the hack as an “act of war”.

“This is the greatest blow to free speech that I’ve seen in my lifetime probably,” McCain told Arizona radio station KFYI 550 on Friday morning, “We have to respond in kind. We have lots of capability in cyber and we ought to start cranking that up.”

McCain pledged on Thursday to strengthen oversight of the Obama administration’s cyber security program and blasted the president’s record on the issue.

Any involvement by China could escalate an already politically explosive situation. In May, the Justice Department indicted five Chinese military officers, alleging that they had hacked into US companies in order to steal trade secrets. Among the companies targeted were Alcoa and US Steel.

The indictment drew a furious response from Chinese officials, who said the charges were “based on fabricated facts” and “grossly” violated “the basic norms governing international relations”. China suspended participation in a US-China working group on cybersecurity.

The FBI has been looking into the Sony hacking scandal since the beginning of December, and had previously stated in public they had been unable to establish a link with North Korea and its notorious Bureau 121 hacking unit.

But anonymous federal law enforcement officials told various media outlets over the past 48 hours that a link between the hack and North Korea had been established.

Sony has been left reeling from the November attack, after thousands of confidential documents, including employee social security numbers, personal emails, unreleased films and executive pay were published online.

On Wednesday, Sony cancelled the film’s release after threats were made against cinemagoers and major US theater groups.

Eddie Schwartz, president of White Ops, a cyber security specialist, said many hacks leave a digital “fingerprint” that could allow the authorities to identify the culprit.

Investigators will begin by looking at the malware, the software used by the hackers and then look at the next moves they made. “Different groups have different patterns of activity that they take on once they enter a system. Those patterns are like a fingerprint, almost like a playbook. You’ll see that they go after certain servers first, that they conduct operations in a certain way.”

Depending on the amount of information Sony has been able to gather, investigators will be able to build a profile of the hack and compare it to past attacks, said Schwartz. He said there was only a “small universe of teams” capable of pulling off a hack as large as this.

Schwartz said North Korea was capable of pulling off the Sony hack, but that in past cases third parties had been shown to be responsible, and it was unclear who had commissioned them.

So China may have been involved and McCain is calling the hacking an act of war.

[Siege]

If artistic expression is your business (As SONY pictures is), then you'd damn well better be prepared to fight for it.

Why? They're a big studio, not some indie crew struggling to get their artistic vision realized. They can write off their losses and recoup them with whatever their next big commercial project is. It's business as usual. This isn't a piece of visionary art on the ragged edge of the socially acceptable. It's a fucking Sony comedy movie. Big deal.

Failing to release this movie has already caused a MASSIVE negative PR backlash. Americans will forgive a lot, but they will not forgive cowardice and weakness. Boycotts will happen - A great many folks will refuse to see the next Sony Produce picture based on the principles.

Yeah right. Do you honestly believe Americans will collectively research the studio behind whatever movie they want to see and then refuse to go see it when it turns out to be Sony? Because I sure don't. Two weeks from now people will be hard pressed to recall there was a movie release cancelled to begin with, let alone whose movie that was.

In addition to that, you've got movie stars lining up and down the block bashing them. Good luck getting any of the big names to produce a movie with your company now that you've bowed to a North Korean dictator.

As if movie stars and directors will suddenly collectively refuse to star in Sony pictures even when the studio dangles the usual sacks of cash with their names on them in front of their faces. If you believe that'll happen I've got an ocean front property in Nevada to sell to you.