The chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee said Friday that federal agents were zeroing in on proof that North Korea was behind the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment computer network.

Investigators were tracking down a clue proving North Korean hackers either did the damage or worked through a criminal group to accomplish the feat, said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House committee.

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The FBI was investigating the situation and Rogers, a former FBI agent, said North Korea's recent praise of the attack while denying responsibility was a red flag for investigators.

"When a nation state says that this group did this on behalf of the North Korean people and we appreciate it," Rogers said, "as we would say in the FBI, that's a clue."

The Sony attack came following numerous threats by North Korea directed at Sony Pictures for months prior to the real ease of "The Interview." The movie is a satirical look a fictional assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un by a bunch of bumbling actors. North Korea called the movie release an act of war.

North Korean officials through diplomatic channels also tried to stop the release of the Seth Rogan-James Franco movie release, according to Rogers, adding "they thought it would be damaging to the leader in North Korea."

Speaking Friday at a Christian Science Monitor reporters breakfast in Washington D.C., Rogers said the North Koreans "missed the boat on what makes America tick. They may have done more sales for that movie than ever before."

Rogers also noted the cautionary effect of the attack highlighting vulnerability of sensitive information calling for businesses with intellectual properties to beef up their cyber-defenses.

Analysts said 90 percent of U.S. companies couldn't fight off the level of attack put on the Son system. The still-unsolved attack completely shut down Sony's computer network. Hackers leaked on the Web all sorts of confidential emails, unreleased films, salaries and Social Security numbers. It also damaged essential company files.

The breach of sensitive information, still not contained, was expected to result in tens of millions of dollars of damage to Sony.

Tagssony, North Korea, Hack Attack, cybersecurity, Mike Rogers, the intrview, seth roagan, James Franco