FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images Employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment received a threatening email from the so-called 'Guardians of Peace' Friday which reportedly warned them to cooperate or 'be in danger.' The cyber hackers waging war against Sony Pictures Entertainment unleashed a new attack against the company Friday in an ominous email threatening not only the employees but their families as well.
In an email attributed to the head of the so-called "Guardians of Peace," Sony employees were warned that if they don't cooperate, "not only you but your family will be in danger," according to the email obtained by Variety.
Employees were consequently instructed to turn off their handheld devices after the ominous message spread, sources told the magazine.
"We understand that some of our employees have received an email claiming to be from GOP," a Sony spokesperson told the Daily News. "We are aware of the situation and are working with law enforcement."
Along with warning of Sony Pictures' collapse — over issues not specified beyond the company being the source of nothing "good" — the jumbled email warns that "one beside you can be our member."
Lee Jin-man/AP South Korea's Cyber Terror Response Center of National Police Agency is seen. Some experts say they've found similarities between the code used in Sony's hacking and attacks blamed on North Korea against in South Korea. It asks that the employees send their name to a provided email address "to object the false of the company" and spare themselves from "danger."
"Removing Sony Pictures on earth is a very tiny work for our group which is a worldwide organization. And what we have done so far is only a small part of our further plan," the email reads.
The bizarre threat is the latest against the film company and its employees since Nov. 24.
In the first of several breaches credited to the pirates, five new Sony movies — four of which have yet to be hit theaters — were uploaded to the web.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Comedy Central Actors James Franco and Seth Rogen had their salaries leaked online in an attack being credited to the Guardians of Peace. The comedic duo are behind an upcoming film that spoofs North Korea's dictator. Late last month the private information of 47,000 current and former Sony employees was hacked and posted on the web, including that of Hollywood celebrities Sylvester Stallone, Judd Apatow, and Rebel Wilson.
They also targeted the actors in the upcoming North Korea spoof, "The Interview."
In that film, slated for release on Christmas Day, actors Seth Rogen and James Franco are tasked with assassinating Dictator Kim Jong-Un, leading to North Korean officials blasting its release as "an act of war."
On Wednesday Sony Pictures argued a report that they were investigating the cyber-attack as tied to the suppressed country.
Cybersecurity experts, however, later told the Associated Press that they have found similarities between the code used in suspected North Korea hacks that targeted South Korean companies and government agencies last year.
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