This hack of Sony by likely North Korean hackers is actually turning out to be a very effective way for the North Koreans to influence how Hollywood tries to depict their country in future films. The Kim regime has clearly had enough of being the stereotypical bad guys for various Hollywood films and the leak of these internal Sony emails is proving to be highly embarrassing and could lead to legal action against the company for many years to come:
The hits on Sony keep coming.
As journalists pore over hundreds of thousands of internal Sony emails the hacker group calling itself Guardians of Peace starting releasing on Nov. 24, more sensitive information continues to be uncovered, including revelations published on Friday by The Daily Beast, Re/code, Gawker, and The Verge.
To date, the hackers have released Sony executives’ salaries, top-secret profitability data, employees’ Social Security numbers, embarrassing emails and at least five films and opened up legal risks for years to come. The most revealing information leaked so far has come from the email exchanges between studio execs and Hollywood’s elite. Here are 10 of the latest developments. [Yahoo Movies]
You can read more at the link, but surely any Hollywood film company is going to think twice about making North Korea the stereotypical bad guys for their films after this cyberattack against Sony.
Reports are stating that Sony has linked North Korea to the cyberattack against their company:
A Sony Pictures internal investigation has identified North Korea as the source of a devastating computer attack, and the studio is deliberating whether to announce the findings publicly, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The company’s investigation has linked the hackers that stole a major holiday film release and unleashed a destructive computer worm to a North Korean group known as DarkSeoul, which was responsible for similar attacks on South Korean banks and television studios last year, a second person familiar with the investigation said. [Stars & Stripes]
I don’t think there is much Sony can do about this other than they need to improve their network security from these attacks. If North Korea was able to do this imagine what the Russians or Chinese could do with their advanced hacking operations? Companies need to make network security a top priority.
It seems that North Korea would be the likely suspect for such an attack, but a skilled criminal group could have used the dispute between North Korea and Sony as good cover for their own hacking attack:
Could an upcoming Seth Rogen–James Franco satire about North Korea have triggered last week’s devastating computer attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment?
On Sunday, Sony internet technicians were still wrestling with the fallout from a paralyzing hacker attack the previous Monday that left the computer, email and phone systems at the TV and movie studio inoperable. A group calling itself Guardians of Peace claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to release sensitive corporate data.
But Sony has not identified the source of the takedown, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. Among the theories investigators are checking is that North Korea, or someone operating on its behalf, launched the cyber attack in retribution for “The Interview,” another knowledgeable individual told TheWrap. The upcoming Sony comedy film features Rogen and Franco as journalists who land an interview with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and are then asked by the CIA to assassinate him. [Yahoo]
You can read more at the link, but if North Korea did do this they have only further given Sony free publicity for this movie that will only increase the number of viewers of it.
