North Korean hackers have targeted a fictional British TV show whose plotline centres around the secretive country.
The drama, Opposite Number, revolves around a British nuclear scientist kidnapped in Pyongyang.
British broadcaster Channel 4 first announced the show in 2014, adding that it would be written by a Oscar-nominated writer.
According to the New York Times, North Korea had reacted angrily at the announcement, calling the show a "slanderous farce."
When it became clear that the British government would not axe the series despite protests, North Korea reportedly hacked into systems belonging to Mammoth Screen, the company co-producing Opposite Number, reports the BBC.
The attack which took place in 2014, was stopped before damage could be inflicted, but the incident had raised significant alarm.
"They were running around with their hair on fire," a TV executive from another company told the BBC.
Despite this, David Abraham, the chief executive of Channel 4, had later vowed to continue the production.
However, the series has now been shelved due to a lack of "third-party funding", according to a spokeswoman for ITV Studios, which purchased Mammoth Screen in 2015.
A history of 'righteous' hacking
This isn't the first time North Korea has reacted strongly to portrayals of its country in foreign media.
In 2014, the production company behind comedic film The Interview, experienced a cyber attack by a group called the Guardians of Peace.
The Interview featured the attempted assassination of a North Korean dictator.
Sony Pictures had its email stolen and publicly released, and confidential information such as celebrities' salaries and social security information was also exposed.
U.S. officials said they believed that North Korea was behind the hacking group's actions, in retaliation for The Interview.
North Korea denied being involved, but called the hack a "righteous deed."
Sony initially decided to can the movie, a move that was met with much incredulity. The Interview was eventually released after the Hollywood studio faced backlash, but was only aired online and across a handful of US cinemas, with larger theatres deciding not to show the film for fear of threats.
And North Korea's hacking capabilities have only grown since.
Lazarus, a hacking group linked to North Korea, was on Tuesday suspected to have been behind a recent cyberattack in Taiwan, where hackers attempted to steal US$60 million -- of which all but $500,000 has been recovered.
The group has also been accused of having links to several other high-profile cyberattacks, including a 2016 cyberattack on the Bangladesh central bank’s account in which hackers got away with $81 million.
Topics Cybersecurity Politics
