Sony Pictures Entertainment has agreed for an $8 million settlement with the company's former and current employee after its data was stolen in a cyber attack launched by North Korea. During the breach, information of its employees was stolen resulting in a mounting of lawsuits from each employee involved.
Kim Jong-Un
Ex-Sony Pictures Entertainment employees filed a proposed class action lawsuit on Wednesday regarding the breach of records with the entertainment company in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
"The Interview," the Sony Pictures comedy believed to have triggered a cyber attack on the studio, has racked up over $40 million in sales from 5.8 million digital downloads, the studio said on Tuesday.
Sony Pictures (6758.T) said "The Interview" has earned more than $15 million in online sales and another $2.8 million in theaters, an impressive return made possible by the publicity surrounding the cyberattack blamed on North Korea.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said its iTunes store is now carrying Sony Corp's (6758.T) "The Interview", the film that angered North Korea and triggered a cyberattack against the studio.
North Korea called U.S. President Barack Obama a "monkey" and blamed Washington on Saturday for Internet outages it has experienced during a confrontation with the United States over the hacking of the film studio Sony Pictures.
"The Interview," the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, opened in more than 300 movie theaters across the United States on Christmas Day, drawing many sell-out audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression.
The United States has sought help from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia in combating cyber attacks such as the one Washington on Friday accused North Korea of carrying out against Sony Pictures, U.S. officials said.
The New York premiere of "The Interview", a Sony Pictures comedy about the assassination of North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, has been canceled and a source said one theater chain had scrapped plans to show it, after threats from a hacking group.
The government of North Korea under Kim Jong-un appeared to be purging close allies of disgraced political leader and family member Chang Song-thaek as the former orders its business people in China to come home.