Sony Pictures Corporate Files Stolen and Released in Cyber-Terrorist Attack

I've been thinking lately, that the average American stands a statistically better chance of being "attacked" by Domestic Cyber-terrorists than a foreign Jihadist. And now the Cyber-terrorists have gone beyond just mega-downloads of stolen data. Now they are threatening and delivering demands and deadlines! Take a gander at this article, for instance:

www.yahoo.com...
SONY PICTURES PICTURES AND CORPORATE FILES STOLEN IN CYBER-TERRORIST ATTACK
"Sony Pictures Entertainment, the television and movie arm of the tech giant, was hijacked this week. On Monday, employees at the company discovered a skull and message from either a group or individual on Sony's systems, threatening the leak of sensitive corporate data unless particular demands were met.

"On Monday, the Sony website also reportedly displayed a message showing "#GOP," which may indicate a group called Guardians of Peace was behind the attack. The message read:

*We've already warned you and this is just a beginning. We've obtained all your internal data including your secrets and top secrets [which will be released] if you don't obey us.*

Who ARE these guys, and what's their beef with Sony???

a reply to: MKMoniker

Sounds like this group are out to blackmail them.

May be their demands are for money?

Hacking and kidnapping of sensitive data. The latest ransom caper ?

Sony sure has been getting hit hard lately. That 'lizard squad' group threatened the CEO and made his plane land a few weeks back - and that group has been attacking the gaming servers for months now. Extremely weird that all these groups are targeting Sony....Really makes you wonder what these secrets are? Personally I think Sony makes a damn fine product.

I could see Sony would be a good target just for information, but what motive? Pretty amateurish statement they made really

a reply to: lonesomerimbaud

Thanks for your reply.

This hijacking of a computer - locking it with a count-down screen until owner has paid - has been going on for awhile. But I don't understand what they want from Sony, that is basically an electronics hardware company (Playstation), and their movie division seems to just "distribute" foreign movies. Maybe this is revenge for an old scandal:

en.wikipedia.org...
SONY/BMG COPY PROTECTION ROOTKIT SCANDAL

What if old Billygoat Gates had enough money he could afford to pay a group of hackers to target his entertainment system competition.

What if Bill gates was rich?

a reply to: lightedhype

Thanks for your comments.

I've seen the bit about forcing the CEO's plane to land. Maybe that's what they meant with "We've already warned you ...". Although the rest of that line ("... and this is just a beginning.") seems to turn this into a vendetta. (Although the message "just a beginning" instead of "just the beginning" seems to hint at either a foreign source - or multiple upcoming nasty "beginnings.")

They're going head to head with Microsoft (X-box) over game consoles. And Sony's about to step it up with 'Morpheus':

www.sony.com... tml
(March 2014) SONY ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL-REALITY WITH "PROJECT MORPHEUS"

Plus, their cameras seem to be on a roll too:

www.amazon.com...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417199096&sr=1-1&keywords=Sony
SONY a7 AND a7R: THE UNOFFICIAL QUINTESSENTIAL GUIDE

www.amazon.com...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417199096&sr=1-3&keywords=Sony
PHOTOGRAPHER'S GUIDE TO THE SONY DSC-RX100 III

www.amazon.com...=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417199096&sr=1-5&keywords=Sony
COMPLETE GUIDE TO SONY'S A6000 CAMERA

Although, photographers aren't generally known as cyber-terrorists, unless you are standing in their light as they focus on a once-in-a-lifetime shot ...

I originally thought that this was most likely some pesdo cyberpunk super hero wannabes , although apon further inspection (dones sherlockian homies hat and pipe) I am thinking that some major corporate warfare is afoot here somewheres in cyberland. Guardians of the galaxy indeed..... oh come on already.......

First of all, Sony Pictures has little to nothing to do with Sony Electronics. It's McDonalds to Chipotle, same corporation different branch.

I've worked for Sony Pictures before, and I didn't get paid what was agreed. There are some slimey executives and a whole lot of let offs happened in the past couple years.

I'd put money on an ex-employee, large film studios don't exactly have the hottest track records in terms of PR.

a reply to: MKMoniker

Probably angry trolls who got banned from the PlayStation network.

a reply to: scattergun

Thanks for your post.

Yes, the "motive" is the tricky part to figure out. Although Sony has been neck-and-neck with tech giants Google and Apple recently over certain products. And between Google's super-secrecy and Apple's CashStash, anything's possible:

www.theverge.com...
SONY'S E-PAPER WATCH IS A THING OF MINIMALIST BEAUTY
"Two days ago, we heard of Sony's plans to build a watch made entirely of e-paper — one where the band and the watch face would both change in response to the user's wrist gestures. It sounded wild and provocatively different, but what we really wanted to know was what it looked like. As it turns out, that watch is already in the public eye, though Sony's involvement had until now been kept clandestine so as to judge the product on its own merits. Say hello to the FES Watch."

www.theverge.com...
SONY'S GOOGLE GLASS RIVAL WILL GO ON SALE BY MARCH 2015
"With all the hype and interest in wearables these past few months, you'd think more companies would be looking to compete with Google's Glass headset, but up until now that hasn't really been the case. Sony teased an alternative to Google's gear in the form of a SmartEyeglass prototype first shown off at CES 2014, which aims to be as versatile as Glass while bettering it in some respects as well."

a reply to: MKMoniker

Once again, these technologies have absolutely NOTHING to do with Sony Pictures. They are a completely separate company with different employees and areas of expertise. Just because Sony Pictures is "Sony" doesn't mean anything.

a reply to: JG1993

"Once again, these technologies have absolutely NOTHING to do with Sony Pictures. They are a completely separate company with different employees and areas of expertise."

Point taken. I'm just having trouble figuring out why a hacktavist would go after their Movie division. Here's some articles on the movies they round up for distribution. Maybe some moviemaker felt cheated/ripped off on the promotion or money end?

www.sonypictures.com...
(July 2013) SONY PICTURES CLASSICS UNLOCKS "TIM'S VERMEER"

www.sonypictures.com...
SONY RELEASES "BIG FISH"

www.facebook.com...
SONY PICTURES FACEBOOK PAGE

They've also released or purchased some Bible-based movies. And there ARE some militant atheists out there ...

www.sonypictures.com...
"THE REMAINING"

www.christiantoday.com...
SONY TO RELEASE "THE LAMB" - BIBLE FILM WITH ALL ANIMAL CAST

The latest:

Investigators think it was ... North Korea.

www.newser.com...

DID NORTH KOREA HACK SONY OVER A SETH ROGEN FILM?
" Sony Pictures was recently hacked, and investigators are looking into whether North Korea might have had something to do with it, insiders tell Re/code. The country has expressed outrage over an upcoming movie starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, which features the pair trying to assassinate Kim Jong Un.

"Unreleased movies like Annie have emerged on the web since the hack, Gizmodo reports, though it's not certain that those leaks are tied to the same attack. Some Sony files have allegedly been leaked on reddit, but there hasn't been any outside confirmation that the files on the site were stolen in the hack,

originally posted by: lightedhype
Sony sure has been getting hit hard lately. That 'lizard squad' group threatened the CEO and made his plane land a few weeks back - and that group has been attacking the gaming servers for months now. Extremely weird that all these groups are targeting Sony....Really makes you wonder what these secrets are? Personally I think Sony makes a damn fine product.

Disclaimer: I will not, under any circumstances, post specifics.

I actually stumbled upon the identity of some of the llizard squad guys.Their names, addresses, social media accounts, phone numbers, etc. where all obtained by a source I had nothing to do with and only by chance did I stumble upon it. welll, they (or some of them at least) are just kids. Some still live with their parents and are legal minors. It seems they have been taking credit for attacks they didn't carry out and are more or less playing a big game. Now, they clearly can do some real hacking, but not what's being attributed to them. I'm sure we have all been young and dumb, gotten in over our heads with something, and I don't think they should be collectively thrown to the wolves of internet justice. I don't condone anything they did/said, but it's not a witch hunt anyone needs to be getting into. Take it for what you will, I hope anyone else who saw the exposed members information will feel the same. These parents don't need the wrath of the entire internet brought down upon their homes/phones/sons.

I also conceed the information could be false, but that's unlikely IMO. I hope they chill out/grow up before they ruin their futures.

a reply to: dr1234

I hope you wrote that tongue-in-cheek, because this latest Sony hack is very serious - and NOT the pranks of some kids still living at home. It was obviously "state-sponsored," with the latest stories pointing to Chinese hackers:

www.usatoday.com...
SONY HACK ATTACK MAY BE RELATED TO JAMES FRANCO / SETH ROGEN COMEDY
"The source of the attack wasn't known, but now reports are pointing to hackers working in China on behalf of North Korea. The dictatorship is famously secretive and hostile toward any criticism.

"In June, the Pyongyang government sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon denouncing the movie as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war," according to Voice of America.

"According to The Wrap, the hack was "more dire" than originally reported, forcing the studio to take many of its functions offline. On Friday, e-mail, phone systems and computers were still paralyzed.

"A company insider told the Hollywood news site, "Every PC in the company is useless, and all of the content files have either been stolen or destroyed or locked away."

"The original messages threatened to release confidential Sony files if demands weren't met, though it was unclear what those demands were."

www.nytimes.com...

NORTH KOREA DENIES ROLE IN SONY PICTURES HACK - BUT APPLAUDS WHOEVER DID IT

I guess this leaves the "Chinese hackers on behalf of N. Korea" idea still alive.

originally posted by: MKMoniker
www.nytimes.com...

NORTH KOREA DENIES ROLE IN SONY PICTURES HACK - BUT APPLAUDS WHOEVER DID IT

I guess this leaves the "Chinese hackers on behalf of N. Korea" idea still alive.

The more I see of this, the amount of data compromised and downloaded, the more it looks like an internal attack rather than an external one. Much as large corporations hate to admit it, the biggest threats to data integrity and assets is always internal rather than external.

I never believed for a minute the whole "North Korea" did it BS. Although some in the media seemed to point the finger immediately without any shred of evidence, but hey, that's the level of "journalism" was have come to expect these days.

news.yahoo.com...
SONY PICTURES HACKERS "DEMAND" THE MOVIE 'INTERVIEW' NOT BE RELEASED
" A letter posted on a file-sharing site on Monday asked Sony to "stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War!" It was signed by GOP, the nickname for the "Guardians of Peace" group that says it is responsible for a cyber attack at Sony that began Nov. 24.

"Pyongyang has denounced "The Interview" as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war" in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. People close to the investigation of the Sony hacking have told Reuters that North Korea is a principal suspect, but a North Korean diplomat has denied that his nation is involved.

"The documents released on Monday included an e-mail to Sony that demanded "monetary compensation" to avoid "great damage" to the studio, according to the website Mashable. The e-mail was dated Nov. 21, Mashable said in its report. News of the hacking became public on Nov. 24."

www.nytimes.com...

HACKED SONY PICTURES E-MAILS REVEAL STUDIO'S DIRTY LAUNDRY
(The first half the article is all the gossip silliness about angry e-mails and accusations.)

"But now Chairman Lynton is instead scrambling to advise both his superiors at the Sony Corporation in Japan and his employees on the studio’s Culver City, Calif. lot, as to the extent of the damage and of steps he and they must take to contain it over the coming weeks and perhaps years.

"Some computer systems remain down for fear of reinfecting them, and the studio could be two to three months away from restoring all of them.

"The studio is insured against at least some of its losses. The final tab is likely to be much less than the $100 million-plus estimates that have been floated by outsiders, one person briefed on the studio’s situation said.

"People briefed on Mr. Lynton’s movements said he returned at midweek from a long-planned trip to Japan, where he discussed business strategy and the breach. On Friday, he is expected to address a rare mass gathering of employees."