U.S. investigators believe that North Korea likely hired hackers from outside the country to help with last month's massive cyberattack against Sony Pictures, according to an official close to the investigation.
As North Korea lacks the capability to conduct some elements of the sophisticated campaign by itself, the official said, U.S. investigators are looking at the possibility that Pyongyang "contracted out" some of the cyber work. The official was not authorized to speak on the record about the investigation.
The attack on Sony Pictures is regarded to be the most destructive against a company on U.S. soil because the hackers not only stole huge quantities of data, but also wiped hard drives and brought down much of the studio's network for more than a week.
While U.S. officials investigate whether North Korea enlisted help from outside contractors, the FBI stood by its previous statement that Pyongyang was the prime author of the attack against the Sony Corp unit.
North Korea has denied that it was behind the Sony attack and has vowed to hit back against any U.S. retaliation.
The people who claimed responsibility for the hack have said on Internet postings that they were incensed by the Sony Pictures film "The Interview," a comedy about a fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Because of the hackers' threats, major U.S. cinema chains refused to show the film. Last week, Sony struck deals with some 320 independent theaters to distribute "The Interview" and also made the film available online.
Tech Insider
