Brian Stelter from CNN reports that hackers sent Sony Pictures Entertainment executives a braggy email celebrating Sony's decision to cancel its release plans for The Interview. The hackers promise that the remainder of Sony's data is safe—for now.


According to CNN, part of the email reads:

It is very wise that you have made a decision to cancel the release of the interview. It'll be very useful for you... ...We still have you sensitive and private data. We ensure the security of your data, unless you make additional trouble.


The email further demands that Sony keep cooperating (i.e. never let The Interview see the light of day—or else otherwise more of the company's data be released. Now that The Interview won't be released in theaters, the hackers are demanding that all traces of the movie be wiped from the face of the internet, and that the film never be shown in any way.

Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy. And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately.

The Sony hack first came to light more than three weeks ago; the current theory is that it was initiated by North Korea, in retaliation for The Interview. In the comedy, the main characters assassinate Kim Jong-Un.

The new set of demands is the inevitable consequence of the cowardice of Sony showed by canceling The Interview. Will Sony comply with this latest demand? And if it does, what's to stop the hackers from making yet another set of demands?


The Hackers Won. Now What? Earlier today, the five largest movie theater chains in the country decided that they would not, in Read more

The email hasn't been officially confirmed, but Stelter is as reliable a reporter in this space as you can find. We'll have to wait how Sony responds. The leaks are probably over for now; the repercussions of giving in have only just begun. [CNN]