Official: U.S. will respond to North Korea |CNN

Washington (CNN) -- U.S. investigators have evidence that hackers stole the computer credentials of a system administrator to get access to Sony's computer system, allowing them broad access, U.S. officials briefed on the investigation tell CNN. The finding is one reason why U.S. investigators do not believe the attack on Sony was aided by someone on the inside, the officials tell CNN.
The revelation is part of what is behind the government's conclusion that hackers operating on behalf of North Korea were responsible. The government is expected to publicly blame the reclusive regime as early as Friday. The hackers ability to gain access to the passwords of a top-level information technology employee allowed them to have "keys to the entire building," one official said.


He said the United States' response would need to be "proportional," and that national security officials considering how to respond are "also mindful of the fact that sophisticated actors when they carry out actions like this are oftentimes, not always, but often seeking to provoke a response from the United States."

A senior administration official said the White House did not pressure Sony to make the decision it announced Wednesday to pull the movie "The Interview" -- which depicts the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- from theaters.

"There was no pressure. Absolutely not," the official said, adding that consultations with Sony happened primarily in phone calls between the company and the FBI which were relayed to the White House.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/18/politics/u-s-will-respond-to-north-korea-hack/