Sony Hackers Appear to Mock FBI in Latest Message

An email apparently sent by the Guardians of Peace includes a link to a YouTube video that refers to the investigators as idiots

The group responsible for the Sony Pictures hack has apparently sent a new message that mocks the FBI for its investigation into the devastating cyberattack.

An email claiming to be from Guardians of Peace, the group that took credit for last month's attack on Sony's systems, was sent to journalists early Saturday. The email, titled "The data you are interested in," included a link to a Pastebin page with a so-called "Christmas gift" message taunting the law enforcement agency that on Friday officially named North Korea as the source of the hack.

"The result of investigation by FBI is so excellent that you might have seen what we were doing with your own eyes," reads the message, which then links to a YouTube video. "We congratulate you success. FBI is the BEST in the world."

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The YouTube video, which appears to be aimed at the FBI, calls investigators idiots and features writing in a foreign language.

It's impossible to know if the email was, in fact, sent by GOP because unlike previous emails from the group, it didn't link to any leaked documents. But the message appeared similar to previous missives from the group in format. The group has also used the peer-to-peer site Pastebin with its other comminques that posted documents with thousands of social security numbers of past and present studio employees, embarrassing emails and sensitive financial documents. Also, the subject line in Saturday's email has been used in previous emails from the hacking group.

The emails from GOP began shortly after the hack was first noticed by the studio on Nov. 24 and eventually called for Sony to pull the movie The Interview, threatening 9/11-style violence if its demands were not met. The studio pulled the film Wednesday after the five major U.S. movie chains refused to show the Christmas Day movie.

Saturday's email follows an email sent to Sony brass on Thursday in which GOP celebrated its victory over the studio, saying the decision to pull the movie was wise.

On Saturday, North Korea proposed a joint investigation with the U.S. that it claims will prove that the nation had nothing to do with the hack, according to the Associated Press. North Korea warned of "serious" repercussions if the U.S. does not participate in the investigation.

Sony has defended its decision to cancel the scheduled Christmas release of its Seth Rogen comedy following President Obama's statement that the studio made a "mistake" by pulling the film.