The hackers responsible are actually RUSSIAN

Security experts believe the origins of the now-infamous Guardians of the Peace are Russian after analyzing about 1,600 words attached to the Sony emails the hacking group leaked to a variety of media outlets.

The words were investigated by Seattle-based cyber security firm Taia Global. 

'Our preliminary results show that Sony's attackers were most likely Russian, possibly but not likely Korean and definitely not Mandarin Chinese or German,' the company wrote in a Christmas Eve blog post, according to The New York Daily News.

The firm deducted that while the analysis did not clear North Korea of any involvement in the hack, it was unlikely. 

That is based on the phrasing and language used by the hackers, who communicated in English.

The Taia Global study determined 15 out of 20 phrasings in the emails matched the Russian language.

Nine matched Korean, and none were Mandarin or German.

President Obama and the FBI have accused North Korea of being behind the hacking saga in response to the Sony film The Interview, which features a mock death of the country's leader, Kim Jong-un. 

The government have not released the sources that lead them to direct blame at North Korea. 

Jong-un has denied any involvement, and accused the United States of temporarily shutting off its internet this week.

Earlier this week, Guardians of the Peace failed to deliver a much-hyped 'Christmas gift' they claimed would destroy Sony.

'We are preparing for you a Christmas gift,' the group posted online in mid-December. 

'The gift will be larger quantities of data. And it will be more interesting. The gift will surely give you much more pleasure and put Sony Pictures into the worst state.' 

Yet days later a letter released by the hackers on December 18 said that Sony had 'suffered enough.' 

Since then the hackers appear to have turned their attention to the FBI and on December 21 they posted a message which cynically 'praised' the FBI's investigation into the hack, with a link to a video that repeated the phrase 'You are an idiot' repeatedly.

On Christmas Day, people flocked to the 300 or so cinemas showing The Interview, saying they are taking a stand for freedom. 

While the Guardians of Peace may be done, a new hacking group has already stepped in and taken their place, managing to shut down the company's PlayStation network at the worst possible time - Christmas Day.

According to Deadline, a group called Lizard Squad is taking credit for the hack, which managed to put the network out of commission for hours not just once, but twice during the holiday. They are also claiming to have done the same to Xbox Live.

This hack pales in comparison however to the damage inflicted on Sony and its employees as a result of the Guardians of Peace hack.

(dailymail.co.uk)