Intelligence Director Calls North Korea Cyberthreat

NEW YORK — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the cyberattack against Sony demonstrated a new threat from North Korea.

Clapper on Wednesday also warned that North Korea will continue the attacks against American interests unless the United States “pushes back.” He made the remarks at a cybersecurity conference at New York’s Fordham University.

Clapper described meeting a top North Korean general last year when he went there to negotiate the release of two U.S. prisoners. He says the general would have been the one to give the green light for the attack on Sony.

Clapper says the general made it clear North Koreans believe their country is under siege by the U.S. and that they are “deadly serious” about affronts to their “supreme leader.”

Allison Leslie is a University of South Florida graduate with a bachelors degree in Mass Communications. She joined Genesis in 2016. With a passion for sports, Allison has interned with 620 WDAE, Pewter Report, Trifecta Team: St. Petersburg Bowl, Bullscast, and many other publications. Being a native to the Bay Area, she has followed and supported Tampa Bay teams her whole life.