Cyberattacks a growing threat that needs united response

Hollywood has few taboos and what the major film companies are uncomfortable with, the independent circuit and digital world can find space for. Sony Pictures' initial caving in to the demands of cyberhackers threatening to attack cinemas planning to show The Interview, a comedy centred on a spoof plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was widely criticised in the US for the message sent to blackmailers and those trying to curtail free speech. The Japanese-owned company has thankfully partially reversed its decision, allowing a limited release through non-mainstream theatres and online video platforms. It is a move condemned by the North's government, but it is nonetheless the right one: Terrorists can never be allowed to dictate terms.

The threats were preceded by the public leaking of movies and thousands of sensitive emails stolen from Sony's website. American fingers of blame are firmly pointed at North Korea, which has denied the charges. US President Barack Obama suggested that the country may again be put on a list of terrorist nations and China has been called on to help.

It is a lot of noise over a lightweight satirical movie, no matter how politically insensitive it may seem. The North has called it an act of war and has similarly taken unkindly to US claims that it was behind the hacking and threats. But it is less the script than the implications that are significant.

Sony's initial reaction sent a signal to other hackers that they could get their way with companies by stealing information and using threats. This is blackmail and it is a crime; that the lives of people who intended to watch the movie were also threatened makes it terrorism. Whoever was behind the hack remains uncertain - a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace has claimed responsibility - but whether they were acting alone or on the orders of someone else is still for investigators to determine. More obvious, though, is that firms the world over increasingly depend on the internet for communication, distribution and providing service to customers and clients.

North Korea was suspected of being behind cyberattacks last year that crashed the networks of South Korean banks and media. The complicated infrastructure of the internet makes proving such claims difficult. But the nature of business means that cyberattacks will be increasingly prevalent for governments, companies and individuals. China, the US and other affected nations have to work together to fight the threat.