Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai has heaped praises on Sony Corp’s employees and partners for standing up to "extortionist efforts" of hackers who attacked the company’s film division over a fictional movie related to North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.

The November attack had debilitated Sony Pictures' computer network and led to the online leaks of unreleased movies and confidential emails.

Sony employees had become "the victims of one of the most vicious and malicious cyberattacks we have known in recent history," Hirai said at the Consumer Electronic Show.

Hirai who was commenting on the episode for the first time, did not take questions from presspersons.Further, he went on to thank movie goers who watched the film.

The FBI has since accused the North Korean government of perpetrating the attack, as the film in question, ‘The Interview’, depicts a fictional attempt to assassinate Kim Jong Un, the current head of the reclusive North Korean state.

It may be recalled that Sony had initially cancelled the release of movie. However, the company later released the film to cinemas and pay TV services.

The Tokyo-based company is yet to generate the $88 million it spent on marketing and production for the film.

Sony, which has been grappling with weak sales at its consumer electronics unit, is expected to report its fifth net loss in six years.

Now, the company is trying to regain lost ground by resurrecting its ‘Walkman’ range of products. The portable music player, called the Walkman ZX2, was unveiled today. Sony is positioning the 128 GB device as "the fruit of continuous refinement in high audio quality technologies. It is expected to retail for over $1000.

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