[...] That article
has been dissected to a degreeshowing how the firm title accusing North Korea buckles under subsequent observations and quotes. Ultimately, we have a named FBI official in a position to have knowledge of the investigation on record saying it was
not North Korea, and we have an unknown amount of unknown officials that may or may not have knowledge of the investigation. Yet, the prevailing thought based on watching social media is that most people believe North Korea was behind it.
According to the Washington Post, who spoke with an “intelligence official” who was “briefed on the investigation”, they are almost certain hackers working for North Korea were behind the attack. To counter this, we have pieces from
Kim Zetter at Wired and
security professional Marc Rogers who make a case that North Korea is likely not involved. One point that can’t be said enough is that “attribution is hard” given the nature of computer intrusions and how hard it is to ultimately trace an attack back to a given individual or group. Past attacks on Sony have not been solved, even years later. The idea that a mere two weeks into the investigation and there is positive attribution, enough to
call this an act of war, seems dangerous and questionable.
Intelligence officials believe with “99 percent certainty” that hackers working for the North Korean government carried out the attack, said one individual who was briefed on the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity. — Washington Post
At this point, it certainly could be North Korea. Or China. Or a group of people with no political affiliation, laughing at their tricks that have thrown the rest of society for a loop. As we have said before, it would be best if we reserve judgement until there is a documented forensic trail that truly establishes some level of attribution with certainty. At that point, Sony Pictures and the U.S. government can determine the best way forward. As
Jason Koebler at Vice writes, “Reaction to the Sony Hack Is ‘Beyond the Realm of Stupid’” and has a wide variety of points that put the events in perspective.
Following up on the “fallout” angle, it appears that this attack has resulted in the cancellation of two movies. The first movie canceled, ‘The Interview’ has been extensively covered in the media and is accompanied by diverse commentary saying it was the right thing to do or it was caving in to terrorist demands.
According to The Wrap, the second movie cancelled, not even in full production, is titled “Pyongyang” and was to star Steve Carell. Produced by company New Regency and directed by Gore Verbinski, the story is based on a graphic novel and follows a Westerner that is accused of espionage in North Korea. According to the
Internet Movie Database (IMDB), it was also to be a comedy.
While the technical investigation into the breach is carried out,
Tech Crunch reports that Sony is being forced to embrace legacy technology such as faxes and face-to-face meetings. Given that the compromise appears to be extensive, companies cannot assume that the attackers have stopped accessing the network. To err on the side of caution, they must assume that just about every device on their network is compromised.
Finally, in the wake of the North Korea guessing game, we’d like to offer a few points of perspective. When the Guardians of Peace (GOP) called for the cancellation of ‘The Interview’, no one thought it would work. Yet it did. Since the demands of the GOP centered around that and the demands have now been met,
Jake Kouns asks if that means the leaks are over?
Cyber War News reminds us that one hack led to one movie being cancelled and the world cares deeply. Yet every day, hundreds of companies are hacked leading to tens of thousands of credentials being leaked. Despite that, no one cares. It is interesting how a large media company can have such influence outside the scope of their usual means of influence (i.e. movies). Despite the veiled threats from the GOP suggesting December 25 may see “9/11 type attacks”, President Obama is saying there is no credible threat and encouraging Americans to go to the movies
according to CNN. Finally,
Mitt Romney chimes in with this great idea:
.@SonyPictures don’t cave, fight: release @TheInterview free online globally. Ask viewers for voluntary $5 contribution to fight #Ebola.
Unfortunately for Romney and those supporting his idea, a CNN email flash arrived shortly after the Tweet saying “Sony Pictures has no further release plans for ‘The Interview,’ a company spokesperson tells CNN’s Brian Stelter, discouraging speculation that it might release the movie digitally.”
RBS will update this timeline with more information as it becomes available.