With everything that has unfolded since, it might be tough to remember exactly what touched off the Sony leaks in the first place. Here’s a quick refresher: In November 2014, cybercriminals hacked into the company’s computers, accessed sensitive information, and started sharing those findings via the Internet. The FBI eventually concluded that the leaks were coming from hackers in North Korea who wanted the controversial film, The Interview, cancelled.
From there, it’s fair to say that all hell broke loose. The Interview was shown in various theaters, as well as on-demand, though cinemas were allowed to opt out of showing it at their discretion. On December 16, Sony hackers sent out a terrifying message that read, “Soon the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001.” The hackers also claimed to know every place and time the movie would play, and recommended potential viewers steer clear of those theaters. People watched it anyway, and may have still regretted it; by most accounts, it was pretty bad.
In the meantime, Sony scrambled while reports about its PR strategy, class action lawsuits, gender wage gap problem, Hitler jokes, racist comments, and other dirty laundry made the rounds. As of this week, the leaks just keep on coming. Specifically, the WikiLeaks: On April 16, the organization published more than 200,000 internal Sony Pictures Entertainment documents and emails. “It belongs in the public domain,” said WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange. “WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there.”
With 30,287 documents and 173,132 emails to be perused by anyone with the inclination and an Internet connection, the latest release has the potential to be the most damning yet. The searchable files are a treasure trove for journalists and Sony competitors seeking the inside scoop. In some ways, that might turn out to be a positive thing: When the wage disparities between female and male actors — like Jennifer Lawrence getting paid less than her American Hustle costars — rose to the surface during recent months, it also forced Hollywood to a start a conversation about the value of women in Tinseltown.
Whatever greater good comes out of the Sony hacks, it’s undeniable that this hurt many employees on a very personal level. Bank accounts, personal email passwords, personal identification information — those and more were seriously compromised, along with employees’ sense of security. The last part is not something so easily fixed. [Bloomberg]
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