Hackers tried to extort Sony Pictures executive prior to hacking them

Now things are starting to make sense. The latest leak of data stolen from Sony Pictures in a recent hack appears to be the email archives of two top executives at the company. It also reveals that the hackers asked those executives for money to prevent the destructive attack. Apparently, the execs didn’t even open the email. The latest revelation arrived with a demand that Sony Pictures pull The Interview, a new movie about assassinating Kim Jong-Un. However, that demand seems like a red herring when you read the email that the hackers apparently sent to executives ahead of the breach.

The hackers behind the massive Sony Pictures breach warned of a damaging cyberattack in a jumbled email sent to company executives three days before the hack. The email, sent on Nov. 21, was addressed to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton, Chairman Amy Pascal and other executives. Mashable has found the email among a new trove of leaked Sony documents released on Monday by the mysterious group of hackers that some believe to be North Korean. The email, written in broken English, makes vague references to “great damage” and asks for “monetary compensation” to avoid it. “Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole,” the hackers said. The hackers signed the email as “God’sApstls,” a phrase that was also found inside some of the malware used in the attack on Nov. 24, which wiped many of Sony’s computer systems. The hackers used what appears to be a throwaway Gmail address, similar to other addresses the hackers have used in emails to reporters.