Sony to pay as much as US$8m to settle data-breach case

Los Angeles

SONY Corp agreed to pay as much as US$8 million to settle claims from employees over the theft of their personal information in a computer hack linked to last year's release of the movie The Interview. Sony will pay the current and former employees as much as US$4.5 million, with lawyers getting US$3.5 million, according to the settlement.

US officials have blamed North Korean hackers angered over the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy for the attack, which was revealed in November. The breach exposed Hollywood secrets, destroyed company data and caused the movie studio to initially cancel the release of The Interview, which was about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea's leader, Kim Jong- un.