President Barack Obama said the U.S. will respond to North Korea’s cyber-assault on Sony Pictures Entertainment “in a place and time and manner that we choose,” adding that he thought the studio made a mistake by canceling the release of a movie linked to the attack.

In his first extensive public comments on a hacking attack the U.S. Justice Department today said was carried out by the North Korean government, Obama said companies shouldn’t be intimidated.

“We cannot have a society in which some dictator in some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States,” Obama told reporters in Washingtontoday.

The cyber-attack on Sony computers exposed Hollywood secrets, destroyed company data and caused the studio to cancel release of “The Interview,” a comedy about a fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The hackers rendered thousands of computers inoperable and forced Sony to take its entire computer network offline.

David Fuller's view

Good for Obama.  Eoin first mentioned this earlier in the week and I would also like to see the film, in protest at this cyber attack and in support of Sony.  Cyber terrorism is a growing threat for us all, with considerable consequences.  I have seen estimates that this one may have cost Sony $200 million.

See also: Sony’s Lynton Blames Theatres for Cancelling ‘The Interview’.