WikiLeaks publishes archive of hacked Sony documents

Whistleblower site WikiLeaks has put hundreds of thousands of emails and documents from last year's Sony hack into a searchable online archive.

The website founded by Julian Assange says that its database includes more than 170,000 emails from Sony Pictures Entertainment and a subsidiary, plus more than 30,000 other documents.

In December, Sony suffered a crippling cyberattack ahead of the release of the movie "The Interview," set in North Korea. An unknown organization leaked the documents and other damaging information online, but not in an easily searchable database.

The hacked documents included correspondences that disparaged celebrities, racially charged emails about the president, documents that reveal movie plots and embarrassing personal information that was on Sony's computer network.

In a statement, Assange said the documents show the inner workings of an international company and therefore belong in the public domain.

Sony responded in a statement emailed to CBS News: "The cyber-attack on Sony Pictures was a malicious criminal act, and we strongly condemn the indexing of stolen employee and other private and privileged information on WikiLeaks. The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in that effort. We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks' assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security, and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees."