An email discovered by Mashable has revealed that Sony Pictures execs were actually contacted by the hackers demanding money before the massive online attack which crippled the company's computers.
The garbled email said:
We've got great damage by Sony Pictures.
The compensation for it, monetary compensation we want.
Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole.
You know us very well. We never wait long.
You'd better behave wisely.
From God'sApstls
The email was discovered among the thousands of leaked documents that were released onto the internet by the hacking group "Guardians of Peace".
According to Mashable one of the executives that received the email didn't even open it, suggesting that at the time Sony Pictures were unable to prove the credibility of the threat.
Since then however gigabytes of information from within Sony Pictures has been leaked online including passwords, bank details, salary information and even a list of fake names that actors such as Daniel Craig use when they're filming abroad.
It was believed that the attack had originated from North Korea however recent emails from GOP in Korean suggest that those writing the emails are not native speakers.