Statement from Senator Dodd on the Cyber Attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2014

STATEMENT FROM SENATOR CHRIS DODD ON THE CYBER ATTACK ON SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

WASHINGTON – The following is a statement from Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.:

“The FBI’s announcement that North Korea is responsible for the attack on Sony Pictures is confirmation of what we suspected to be the case: that cyber terrorists, bent on wreaking havoc, have violated a major company to steal personal information, company secrets and threaten the American public.  It is a despicable, criminal act.

Disappointingly, that fact has been lost in a lot of the media coverage of this over the past few weeks.  This situation is larger than a movie’s release or the contents of someone’s private emails.  This is about the fact that criminals were able to hack in and steal what has now been identified as many times the volume of all of the printed material in the Library of Congress and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who work in the film and television industry, as well as the millions who simply choose to go to the movies.   The Internet is a powerful force for good and it is deplorable that it is being used as a weapon not just by common criminals, but also, sophisticated cyber terrorists.  We cannot allow that front to be opened again on American corporations or the American people.”

About the MPAA
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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For more information, contact:

MPAA Washington, D.C.
Kate Bedingfield
(202) 293-1966
Kate_Bedingfield@motionpictures.org