Sony Pictures' computer system has been down all week due to a hack attack by a group calling itself #GOP (Guardians of Peace). But some wonder whether the group is fighting for workers' rights as it claims, or if it is really controlled by a revenge-minded North Korean government.

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In requests for comment, Sony has been brief and rather odd in its answers, almost rejecting the fact they have been infiltrated. The Japanese company has not even responded to comments about leaked information available on the Web.

However, behind the scenes, Sony has apparently said a few suspect names. One of the most controversial is North Korea, known for having its own hacking group. But the main reason the isolated country is suspected of hacking into Sony is because a new film being released by Sony-owned Columbia Pictures that portrays North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in an unflattering way. 

"The Interview," a comedy starring Seth Rogers and James Franco, centers on the attempted assassination of Kim Jong-Un, and Sony believes North Korea attacked the studio in retaliation for not cancelling the movie. The wording on the #GOP message, saying the hacking group had given them opportunities, would support the idea North Korea is the hacker.

However, that idea does go against The Verge's interview with one of the members of #GOP, who claim the attack was done due to inequality in the Sony Pictures studio. Certainly this would be worse for the studio's image than being attacked by a rogue foreign government that is ostracized by the majority of the world.

Hackers also claim to have worked with employees at the studio to make the computer system hack work. It is hard to take over a full computer system and would need inside help. It's also difficult to imagine why Sony employees would want to help the North Korean government hack into the system.

North Korea has shown sophistication in cyber defense before, blocking various attacks on the country's Intranet. That does not mean the country has a good cyber group for initiating attacks however.

Information stolen from the computer system has already been leaked onto the Web, including visa, passports, passwords and business contracts. The hackers were able to get onto individual machines and accounts, showing a deep understanding of computer systems.

Tagssony, Sony Pictures, GOP, North Korea, hackers, state-sponsored hackers