Sony Pictures Network Hacked, Data Held For Ransom

Sony Pictures has been hacked, it is being reported, with the company's computer network in New York and other unspecified locations around the globe being taken over by some group referring to itself as "#GOP". The company has reportedly shut down all of its computers in Los Angeles as a precaution, and is investigating the matter. In the course of things, a screenshot of the hack has been made public by an anonymous source, and we have it after the jump.

The screenshot below was posted on Reddit by a user who has since deleted his or her account. According to that user, he or she is a former Sony Pictures worker who received the image from a friend who is a current employee with the company. That person reports the image has shown up on "every computer all over Sony Pictures nationwide".

The requests referenced in the screenshot are yet unknown. The data in the zip files include things like financial records and private keys to the servers, according to The Next Web, which says it has received confirmation through a source at Sony that the reported hack is real. Says that source, the hack originated from a single server being compromised.

Nothing on the computers can be accessed, reportedly, and so all workers were sent home. According to Variety, employees have been told to avoid connecting to the company's network and checking their corporate email. Sony has had very little to say about the matter, only saying through a spokesperson to Deadline, "We are investigating an IT matter."

SOURCE: Deadline