Sony Hackers Demand 'The Interview' Be Canceled - or Else

A group that claimed to be responsible for the massive computer hack at Sony Pictures Entertainment demanded that the company cancel the release of "the movie of terrorism" — apparently referring to "The Interview," a comedy that depicts an assassination plot against North Korea's leader. A letter posted on a code-sharing site on Monday asked Sony to "stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War!" It was signed by "GOP," the nickname for the "Guardians of Peace" group that says it is responsible for a crippling cyberattack at Sony that began Nov. 24.

Pyongyang has denounced "The Interview" as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war" in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The movie, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, is scheduled for release on Dec. 25. Some security analysts and investigators have suggested the Sony hacking has links to North Korea, but a North Korean diplomat has denied that his nation is involved. The GOP letter posted Monday included links to downloads of several gigabytes of new data purported to have been stolen from Sony. It also said the GOP was not involved in a threatening e-mail sent to Sony staff on Friday.

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A hack of Sony's PlayStation Network game download service, which was taken offline by attacks over the weekend, appears to be unrelated. Sony did not return requests for comment from NBC News.

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— Reuters and NBC News staff