Story highlights
President Barack Obama tells Americans to go to the movies despite hacking threats
U.S. law enforcement officials have linked hackers behind Sony leaks to North Korea
President Barack Obama says Americans should “go to the movies” without fear, despite hackers’ threats against venues that show a controversial film that Sony has now decided to pull.
Sony announced Wednesday that it won’t release the film – a comedy called “The Interview” that portrays an attempt to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un – following hackers’ threats to attack movie theaters that show it.
But Obama suggested in an interview with ABC News that the threats aren’t credible.
“Well, the cyber-attack is very serious. We’re investigating, we’re taking it seriously,” Obama said in the interview. “We’ll be vigilant, if we see something that we think is serious and credible, then we’ll alert the public. But for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies.”
U.S. law enforcement officials have linked the hackers who pillaged Sony’s internal documents, emails and unreleased films to North Korea, first reported by CNN.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to CNN that Obama has been briefed on the Sony hack and the threats against movie theaters that show the movie, and confirmed that the United States believes North Korea is likely behind the attack.
“This has been malicious in nature,” the official said.