Sony Chiefs Acknowledge Personal Information Was Stolen in Staff Memo

Sony Pictures Entertainment chiefs Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal have released a memo to staff addressing a recent hack against the company. The memo, which was sent to all of Sony’s approximately 6,600 employees, is an apparent admission that information leaked online this week is accurate.

Acknowledging that “a large amount of confidential Sony Pictures Entertainment data has been stolen by the cyber attackers, including personnel information,” Lynton and Pascal sent a message to the company’s employees reassuring them that “the privacy and security of our employees are of real concern to us” and offering them identity protection services.

Related: Sony Hack: Sensitive Data on 3,803 Studio Employees Allegedly Released

On Monday, 17 of the studio’s highest paid employees’ salaries were released via documents obtained by Fusion. On Tuesday, Fusion’s Kevin Roose reported he had access to spreadsheets featuring sensitive information about 3,803 Sony Pictures employees. The information included the birthdates and social security numbers of the employees, including the company’s top executives. The FBI is investigating the hack.

Find the full memo, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, below.

It is now apparent that a large amount of confidential Sony Pictures Entertainment data has been stolen by the cyber attackers, including personnel information and business documents.  This is the result of a brazen attack on our company, our employees and our business partners.  This theft of Sony materials and the release of employee and other information are malicious criminal acts, and we are working closely with law enforcement.

The privacy and security of our employees are of real concern to us, and we are deeply saddened at this concerted effort to do damage to our company, undermine our morale, and discourage us.  We are enormously proud of the resilience you have all shown in the face of this attack.  The company is as busy as ever, and our business continues to move forward, thanks to your great efforts.

While we are not yet sure of the full scope of information that the attackers have or might release, we unfortunately have to ask you to assume that information about you in the possession of the company might be in their possession.  While we would hope that common decency might prevent disclosure, we of course cannot assume that.

Yesterday, we told you that we are offering all employees identity protection services with a third-party service provider, AllClear ID, and that you would receive an email tomorrow outlining steps to sign up.  If you sign up, the AllClear ID investigators would be available to answer your questions about how to handle disclosures of your confidential information.