Wikileaks revives Sony's email discomfort

WikiLeaks has published online a vast, searchable trove of emails and documents stolen from Sony Pictures Entertainment in November by alleged North Korean hackers, saying the archives offer a "rare insight" into the inner workings of a "large, secretive multinational corporation".

The broader exposure for material that caused intense embarrassment in an industry that depends on strong personal relationships comes as a blow to the movie studio, which had appeared to be recovering from the attack.

The documents have been available online since they were released by the hackers, but were difficult to find until they were collated and organised by WikiLeaks.

The hack, which paralysed the studio's systems, sparked an international outcry and a swift response from the US, which imposed new sanctions on North Korean agencies and officials linked to its intelligence services and arms trading.

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, said the archive of data was "newsworthy and at the centre of a geopolitical conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there."

But the publication of the searchable archive drew swift condemnation from SPE. "The cyber attack on Sony Pictures was a malicious criminal act," it said. "The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in that effort."

"We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks' assertion that this material belongs in the public domain," it added, saying it would "continue to fight for the safety, security, and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees".

WikiLeaks pointed to the "connections and alignments" between SPE and the US Democratic Party, highlighting a dinner at Martha's Vineyard attended by Michael Lynton, SPE chief executive, and President Barack Obama.

It also singled out Mr Lynton for being a member of the board of trustees of the Rand Corporation, the think-tank that it alleged specialises "in research and development for the US military and intelligence sector".

The WikiLeaks statement did not explain how it accessed the data or whether it had been in direct contact with the hackers. But the release of the searchable archive comes as SPE's daily operations and activities had finally returned to normal following months of disruption.

Sony, SPE's Tokyo-based parent company, has used the hack as an opportunity to restructure its ntertainment business.

The hackers deleted data and leaked emails and released personal employee information on the internet.

They also made threats to SPE over the release of The Interview, invoking the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in one message. SPE cancelled the film's release in response, but later put it out in some cinemas and via digital services including Google and Netflix.

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