Did North Korea Hack Sony Over a Seth Rogen Film?

Sony Pictures was recently hacked, and investigators are looking into whether North Korea might have had something to do with it, insiders tell Re/code. The country has expressed outrage over an upcoming movie starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, which features the pair trying to assassinate Kim Jong Un. North Korea has warned of "merciless retaliation" if the film is released. The hack reportedly prevented Sony Pictures workers from accessing their computers; a threat on their screens said sensitive data would be leaked if the company didn't comply with hackers' wishes. But no link between the hack and North Korea has been confirmed, the sources tell Re/code.

The hackers call themselves the "Guardians of Peace," or "#GOP," recode notes. Movie-related Twitter accounts hacked by "#GOP" said that "the criminals including (Sony Pictures boss) Michael Lynton will surely go to hell. Nobody can help you," Ars Technica reports. Unreleased movies like Annie have emerged on the web since the hack, Gizmodo reports, though it's not certain that those leaks are tied to the same attack. Some Sony files have allegedly been leaked on reddit, but there hasn't been any outside confirmation that the files on the site were stolen in the hack, Re/code reports. (More Sony stories.)