Sony Pictures breach leads to P2P film leaks

Sony Pictures' woes continue as attackers who gained access to its internal network have leaked the company's latest films via peer-to-peer file sharing networks, including war flick Fury.

News broke of Sony Pictures' security problems late last month when a group identifying itself as GOP, or Guardians of Peace, took over the company's internal computer network with what it claimed were demands for 'equality.' Staff attempting to use their computers were presented with a message setting a deadline after which files, listed in linked documents and including customer data and staff identification documents along with full database dumps, would be released to the public. While Sony Pictures itself has been quiet on the attack beyond confirming it is 'investigating an IT matter,' staff members have stated under condition of anonymity that the attack is real and has 'paralysed' the company's network.

Now, Sony Pictures' troubles get worse as one or more members of the group appear to have leaked copies of the company's latest films to peer-to-peer file sharing sites. According to a report in Variety, at least five DVD screener copies - preview copies of films provided to critics before their official release - of the company's latest films have been uploaded, including the recently-launched war film Fury and as-yet unreleased Annie. Watermarks confirm the files as originating with Sony Pictures, with Variety citing an anonymous source as stating the leak was 'likely related' to the attack late last month.

'The theft of Sony Pictures Entertainment content is a criminal matter,' the company told the site in a brief statement, 'and we are working closely with law enforcement to address it.'

With GOP having reneged on its threat to release the company's internal files to all, it is unknown whether the company is cooperating with the group to restore access to its network or what was contained within the group's as-yet unpublicised list of demands.