U.S. Hacked N.Korean Networks Before Sony Attack

Washington fingered North Korea in the cyber attack on Sony Pictures last year because the National Security Agency had earlier hacked North Korean networks, the New York Times reported Sunday.

The NSA tapped into the North Korean networks and placed a tracking code with the help of allies like South Korea in 2010.

"The American spy agency drilled into the Chinese networks that connect North Korea to the outside world, [and] picked through connections in Malaysia favored by North Korean hackers," the daily said citing newly declassified NSA documents and accounts from former U.S. government officials.

The NSA has reportedly stolen inside information from China on a wide-ranging scale over the past 10-odd years.

"It did not take long for American officials to conclude that the source of the attack was North Korea, officials say," the daily added.

It is unclear why the officials failed to alert Sony despite warnings of retaliation from the North over the teaser trailer of "The Interview," a dud caper about the assassination of leader Kim Jong-un.

Read this article in Korean