The Sony Pictures Entertainment Hack The Problem On November 24, 2014, a hacker group called the “Guardians of Peace” or GOP successfully attacked Sony Pictures Entertainment (www.sonypictures.com; SPE). The attackers obtained personally identifiable information about 47,000 current and former SPE employees and their dependents. These materials included numerous sensitive e-mails among top SPE executives concerning actors, financial deals, and creative disagreements; executive salaries; and complete copies of unreleased Sony films. The information included names, addresses, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, bank account information, credit card information used for corporate travel and expenses, usernames and passwords, and compensation and other employment-related information. The hackers claimed to have stolen more than 100 terabytes of data from SPE. The GOP initially released the most damaging information over the Internet. This information consisted of digital copies of SPE films that had been released (e.g., Fury) or were yet to be released (e.g., Annie). In addition, the attackers announced they would continue to release more interesting SPE information. Although the specific motives for the attack had not been revealed as of mid- 2016, the hack has been linked to the planned release of the SPE film The Interview. In this movie, producers of a tabloid television show learn that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is a big fan of the show, and they set up an interview with him. While the show's team is preparing for the interview, the CIA recruits them to assassinate Kim Jong Un. Prior to the Sony hack, North Korean officials had expressed concerns about the film to the United Nations. The officials stated that “to allow the production and distribution of such a film on the assassination of an incumbent head of a sovereign state should be regarded as the most undisguised sponsoring of terrorism as well as an act of war.” On December 16, 2014, the GOP mentioned The Interview by name, and they threatened to take terrorist actions against the film's New York City premiere at Sunshine Cinema on December 18. The GOP also threatened similar actions on the film's America-wide release date of December 25 (Christmas). On December 18, two messages allegedly from the GOP appeared. The first claimed that the GOP would not release any further information if SPE agreed not to release The Interview and to remove it completely from the Internet. The second http://www.sonypictures.com/ stated that SPE had “suffered enough” and it could release the film, but only if Kim Jong Un's death scene was not “too happy.” In the aftermath of the attack, the studio was forced to use fax machines, to communicate through hard-copy posted messages, and to pay its employees with paper checks. Employees worked with pen and paper, and shops located on Sony property accepted only cash. .