The FBI warned US companies in a five-page, confidential "flash" warning on Monday night that the cyber attack makes it impossible to recover any data that is lost, Reuters reported.
The FBI did not return calls for comment.
It comes after the FBI confirmed it was investigating a cyber attack at Sony Pictures Entertainment last week that took down the company's email system and paralysed its network.
Sony Pictures is said to be investigating whether North Korea was behind the hack in retaliation for a Hollywood film depicting a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un.
A group calling itself #GOP (Guardians of Peace) posted a warning on employees' computers last week saying "If you don't obey us, we'll release the data shown below to the world", giving a deadline of 11:00 the same day and listing five data links.
#GOP said Sony Pictures had been warned before but did not detail its demands.
North Korea had threatened "a strong and merciless countermeasure” against the US if it released the Sony Pictures’ film The Interview.
The film, which is due to be released in the US on Christmas Day, stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as journalists asked by the CIA to kill Kim Jong-un.
The FBI's warning comes just hours after cyber security specialist FireEye said a group of hackers has targeted more than 100 companies to unearth information on their deal making plans.
FireEye said in a report that it believed that the group had "deep familiarity with business deals" and that it was using the information to conduct insider trading.
(telegraph.co.uk)
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