Absent YouTube clips of young North Korean hackers actually attacking Sony, the Obama administration appears to have made up its unequivocal mind that they are responsible... (even as they say the Sony hack origin is still under investigation) and now... *SONY HACK BEING TREATED AS NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER: EARNEST *EARNEST SAYS SONY HACKING MERITS 'APPROPRIATE RESPONSE' The White House spokesman added that daily meetings are being held on the attack. We wonder just how soon it will be before the Nobel Peace Prize winner decides it's time to take 'action'. Additionally... *EARNEST DECLINES TO SAY IF N. KOREA RESPONSIBLE FOR SONY HACK *EARNEST DECLINES TO SAY IF OBAMA, ABE TALKED SONY HACK ON CALL *EARNEST SAYS U.S. SIDES WITH ARTISTIC EXPRESSION ON SPEECH *EARNEST: PULLING `THE INTERVIEW' A DECISION SONY SHOULD MAKE Of course, there's another reason... *EARNEST REITERATES CONGRESS SHOULD PASS CYBERSECURITY BILL As Variety reports, The Obama administration is viewing the massive hack attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment as a “serious national security matter” and is considering a range of possible options as a response, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday. The Sony Pictures situation was the first question Earnest faced at Thursday’s midday press briefing. Earnest was careful not to say that the White House believes North Korea was behind the attack. He emphasized that the investigation into the attack is “progressing” at the FBI and Justice Department. Earnest made it clear that the issue has engaged top administration officials who have held daily meetings on the matter in recent days. He said the administration is considering its options once the investigations are complete. He wouldn’t specify other than to say that a response would be “consistent with how will we protect against, monitor and respond to cyber-incidents. This is something that is being treated as a serious national security matter.” * * *