Sony hackers have left a clear trail to North Korea, claims FBI chief

The hackers behind the cyberattack on Sony “got sloppy” and left a trail which leads back to North Korea, the FBI has revealed. Amid persistent scepticism about whether North Korea’s government was responsible for the hacking, FBI director James Comey spoke out at a cyber-security conference. He said the hackers mistakenly sent messages that were traced to IP addresses used only by North Korea.

It was a mistake by them. It made it very clear who was doing this. I have very high confidence about this attribution to North Korea, as does the entire intelligence community.

FBI director James Comey

Those responsible had tried to use proxy computer servers to disguise their identities and throw investigators off their trail by hiding their true locations. It was first reported on 20 December that the FBI had discovered computer Internet addresses known to be operated by North Korea were communicating directly with other computers used to control the hacking tools and collect stolen Sony files. It was apparently in response to the release of The Interview, a comedy film which pokes fun at the secretive regime. North Korea has denied being involved in the hacking.

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