Sony Pictured hackers offer to withhold the private data of employees

Here’s an odd twist to the Sony Pictures hack: the attackers are becoming courteous… relatively speaking, of course. The Guardians of Peace are threatening to release yet more of the studio’s data as a “Christmas gift,” but they’re also offering to withhold personal information if employees ask to keep it out of the public eye. It’s not clear what prompted the sudden concern for privacy, although it may come from a realization that the leaks are hurting ordinary workers, not just actors and executives.

A group claiming responsibility for the devastating hacking attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment on Sunday offered to selectively hold back on releasing email correspondence of its employees, provided that they write in and ask. The offer, apparently from the Guardians of Peace, a group that says it has carried out the attacks, marks a new twist in its ongoing campaign of embarrassing leaks of data stolen from the studio’s computers studio, now entering its third week. “Message to SPE Staffers,” reads the posting written in halting English. “We have a plan to release emails and privacy of the Sony Pictures employees. If you don’t want your privacy to be released, tell us your name and business title to take off your data.” The message appeared on Pastebin and Friendpaste, two sites for sharing text files often favored for circulating information obtained in hacking attacks. It warned about a forthcoming disclosure that will contain more email correspondence of Sony Pictures employees.