Sony’s CEO finally broke his weeks-long silence on the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment, saying he’s proud of its staff and partners for standing up to “extortionist efforts of criminals” and for getting “The Interview” to audiences.

In brief comments before he began Sony’s press conference at CES 2015 in Las Vegas on Monday evening, Kazuo Hirai described the incident as ”one of the most vicious and malicious cyberattacks that we’ve known.”

“I have to say that freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association—those are very important lifeblood-lifelines of Sony and our entertainment business,” Hirai said, thanking people who have seen “The Interview” online or in theaters.

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