The Sony Hack has sent shockwaves throughout entertainment, tech, and international circles and continues to provide fascinating details of the North Korean cyber attack continue to unravel. For those of you keeping score at home, this attack has been one of the most devastating attacks that has resulted in lawsuits against Sony, films (besides The Interview) being canceled, and criticism for the initially scrapped and then eventual screening of The Interview just to name a few of the resultant calamities. And this doesn’t include the fiasco that saw the release of a myriad of revelations and unfortunate identity theft that was the result from this unprecedented attack on Sony Pictures.
Now as the dust settles, the inevitable “who dunnit” rests on everybody’s lips. The latest word from sources tied to the Sony hack investigation claim that in light of North Korea’s limited technological capabilities (um, duh?) that it seems likely that Kim Jong Un and his cohorts sought hired guns for their crack team of hackers. The theory that North Korea outsourced their hacking duties comes in the face of murmurs that question whether or not the tiny hermit state was behind the attacks at all. Cyber experts have suggested theories ranging from Sony insiders to Russian involvement as being responsible for the attack on Sony Pictures. As former federal cybercrimes prosecutor Mark Rasch states, “I think the government acted prematurely in announcing unequivocally that it was North Korea before the investigation was complete. There are many theories about who did it and how they did it. The government has to be pursuing all of them.”
Despite questions otherwise, the FBI stuck to their guns by stating, “The FBI has concluded the Government of North Korea is responsible for the theft and destruction of data on the network of Sony Pictures Entertainment.” It seems that the FBI’s take on the situation is backed by the group claiming responsibility, called the Guardians of Peace. The Guardians of Peace announced that they were punishing Sony for “terrible racial discrimination” with all signs pointing to the North Korean based film, The Interview. If the Guardians of Peace are indeed tied to North Korea, then it would seem that the FBI’s assertion that the North Koreans called on foreign help might actually hold some water. Do you think it is likely that the North Korean government was able to get outside assistance for the Sony takedown?