The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), said that the internet blackout in North Korea at the end of 2014 was indeed retaliation for computers at Sony Pictures Entertainment being hacked.
McCaul confirmed at a Washington event on Tuesday that the blackout was in response to the Sony hacking, according to Bloomberg Politics. He did not, however, say who was responsible for the blackout.
The White House declined to comment in response to McCaul, according to Bloomberg.
On December 21, North Korea’s internet was blacked out for ten hours, lasting overnight. The Obama administration had accused North Korea of being behind a hacking attack at Sony Pictures.
The hacking coincided with the upcoming release of the satirical film The Interview, which mostly mocked North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. The hacking affected thousands of computers and resulted in Sony delaying the film.
In January, The Associated Press quoted two U.S. officials saying that the U.S. did not cause the North Korean internet blackout.
McCaul’s confirmation makes him the first U.S. official to publicly state that the blackout was in response to the Sony hack.
