Remember The Sony Pictures Hack & WannaCry Ransomware? US Blames It On This North Korean Spy

Back in 2014, Sony Pictures experienced a devastating hack that saw the perpetrators making off with private data and company emails.

Now, the US Justice Department has charged a North Korean man with the crime, as well as for the WannaCry ransomware.

The man in question is allegedly a state operative, working on North Korea¡¯s orders. Park Jin-hyok, they say, was part of ¡°a wide-ranging, multi-year conspiracy¡± the North korean government ordered. Park and other allegedly cracked into Sony Pictures using a front organization, and also created the WannaCry 2.0 ransomware. The latter, is responsible for damaging computer systems of businesses and government institutions in at least 150 countries.

The United States has previously blamed North Korea for both attacks, but especially the Sony Pictures hack. Supposedly, that one was an act of cyberwarfare taken in response to ¡®The Interview¡¯, the movie starring Seth Rogan and James Franco. In it, the two are depicted as talk show producers setting up an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Aside from mocking him profusely in the movie though, it also depicted them assassinating him as part of a US Intelligence plot.

The Sony hack saw the leak of footage of multiple unreleased movies at the time. More importantly though, the leaked emails were a major source of embarrassment, and also served as attack vectors for subsequent independent hacks.

Park has been charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Treasury Department has also placed sanctions on Park and his front company.