North Korea may have had a hand in the digital attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that used destructive malware to disable systems and destroy data, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Some of the malware contained Korean language code, and other aspects of the breach bear important similarities to attacks that wiped out the computers of South Korean banks and broadcasters in March 2013, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.
The FBI sent a flash alert to U.S. companies about the malware Monday, mentioning the use of Korean language, while not linking it directly to the Nov. 25 attack on Sony Corp.'s California-based entertainment unit. One of the sources confirmed that the alert refers to malware in the Sony case.