OBAMA: Sony 'Made A Mistake'

REUTERS/Larry Downing U.S. President Barack Obama reacts after tweeting at his first ever Twitter Town Hall in the East Room at the White House in Washington, July 6, 2011.

President Obama said in a news conference Friday that Sony made a mistake pulling "The Interview" following a series of hacks from a group called Guardians of Peace (GOP).

A reporter asked Obama if Sony was right to pull the movie. Obama responded:

"I'm sympathetic to the concerns they faced. Having said all that, I think they made a mistake."

Obama continued:

"I wish [Sony] had spoken to me first. I would have told them do not get into a pattern where you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks."

He also said other companies shouldn't cave to pressure from hackers like Sony did to avoid setting a precedent.

When Sony decided to pull the movie Wednesday night, pundits exploded. The fear is that caving to hackers sends a message that companies and individuals can be controlled simply by the threat of the hack.

Obama agrees with that.

The FBI on Friday said it has enough evidence to link the Sony hacks to North Korea. In short, the FBI says the methods and tools used to hack Sony have been linked to North Korea before. However, the FBI's statement wasn't too detailed because it needs to protects its "sensitive sources."

The GOP sent another threatening email to Sony executives Friday saying that no more attacks will happen as long as Sony never releases "The Interview" in any form. 

More on the Sony hacks:

• The full statement from the FBI blaming North Korea >>
• US companies are scrambling to guard their data following the Sony hack >>
• We probably won't get justice for the Sony hack >>
• Sony might have been a practice run for North Korea >>
• Here are the US options for an appropriate response to North Korea >>