(Bloomberg) — North Korea may have had a hand in a digital attack against Sony Pictures that used destructive malware to disable systems and destroy data, according to two people with the knowledge of the investigation.

Some of the malware contained Korean language code, and other aspects of the breach bear important similarities to attacks that wiped out the computers of South Korean banks and broadcasters in March 2013, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.

The FBI sent a flash alert to U.S. companies about the malware yesterday, mentioning the use of Korean language, while not linking it directly to the Nov. 25 attack on Sony Corp.'s Culver City, California-based entertainment unit. One of the people confirmed the alert refers to malware in the Sony case.

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