Sony Pictures settles hacking lawsuit

Sony Pictures Entertainment has reached a settlement with current and former employees, agreeing to pay up to $8 million to reimburse them for identitytheft losses, preventive measures and legal fees related to the hack of its computers last year.

The settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles late Monday and needs to be approved by a judge.

The agreement calls for up to $10,000 a person, capped at $2.5 million, to reimburse workers for identity theft losses, up to $1,000 each to cover the cost of creditfraud protection services, capped at $2 million, and up to $3.5 million in legal fees.

Hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace broke into Sony Pictures computers and last November released thousands of emails, documents, Social Security numbers and other personal information in an attempt to derail the release of the North Korean-focused comedy “The Interview.” The U.S. government blamed North Korea for the attack.

In a memo to staff Tuesday, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chief Executive Michael Lynton called the agreement “an important, positive step forward in putting the cyberattack firmly behind us.”

Sony Corp. CEO Kazuo Hirai told a technology conference Tuesday that after the hack, the movie studio has “come out more resilient, more strong and they have a very good management team in place now.”