Sony’s top corporate executive on Monday condemned the recent hacking assault against Sony’s film division by saying his employees had been the victims of a “vicious and malicious cyber-attack,” while adding that he’s proud of them for standing against “the extortionist efforts of criminals.” CEO Kazuo Hirai, who hasn’t spoken about publicly about the hack before, opened a press event at the International CES trade show by saying he “would be remiss” if he didn’t mention the controversy over the Sony comedy, “The Interview.” Hackers calling themselves the “Guardians of Peace” managed to cripple the computer systems of Sony Pictures Entertainment in late November, before subsequently releasing a trove of sensitive corporate and employee records.