The Sony Cyber Attack
By Tom Brett Last edited 30/Dec/2014
Week Starting Mon November 24th 2014
Image 1. Sony Pictures Hack, retrieved from Vox.com
It all roughly started on November 1st 2014 when employee screens started showing an image of a skeleton with a threatening message (See image retrieved from Vox.com) The image is followed by messages that the hackers have also retrieved alot of Sony’s internal data and that if they dont ‘obey’ their instructions that they will release the companies ‘top secrets’
Vox.com(1) tell us that “Sony’s network was down for days as administrators struggled to repair the damage. Staff were reportedly forced to work on whiteboards to do their jobs.”
Calling themselves “Guardians of Peace” (GOP) the hackers say that they have obtained 100 terabytes of data stolen from Sony servers which include secret data as well as raw footage.
On the 25th of November, a spokesperson for SPE, Jean Guerin, comments: “Sony Pictures Entertainment experienced a system disruption, which we are working diligently to resolve.”
A number of Sony films yet to be released were released onto file-sharing hubs. Fury starring Brad Pitt was said to have been downloaded over 1 million times with a week!. other films which were not even in theaters to include Annie, Mr. Turner, Still Alice and To Write Love On Her Arms were being downloaded off the internet.
Image2. The Interview Poster retrieved from Businessinsider.com
The first reports on Sony suspecting North Korea as being responsible over ‘The Interview’ (a comedy soon to be released). This speculation was due to a number of events and statements going back as far as June 2014, Businessinsider.com (3) reports that “The Pyongyang government denounce “The Interview” as “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war” in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. North Korea promises “decisive and merciless countermeasure” if “the U.S. administration tacitly approves or supports” the Seth Rogen-written and directed comedy.
Sony ignores the comments and moves forward with the film’s December 25th release date.”
Businessinsider.com(2) further tell us that “North Korea has denied any involvement with the hack, but has said they’re glad it happened.”
Week Commencing Monday 1st December 2014
A number of Salaries are now leaked from some of the top Sony executives as well as current and former employees. A number of sites then publish the figures also.
Sony hires a cyber security firm to help investigate the attack. The FBI claims that it is also launching its own investigation.
Deadline.com(3) reports that Sony Chiefs Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal issue the following statement ““It is now apparent that a large amount of confidential Sony Pictures Entertainment data has been stolen by the cyber attackers, including personnel information and business documents. This is the result of a brazen attack on our company, our employees and our business partners. This theft of Sony materials and the release of employee and other information are malicious criminal acts, and we are working closely with law enforcement…While we are not yet sure of the full scope of information that the attackers have or might release, we unfortunately have to ask you to assume that information about you in the possession of the company might be in their possession. While we would hope that common decency might prevent disclosure, we of course cannot assume that… We can’t overemphasize our appreciation to all of you for your extraordinary hard work, commitment and resolve.”
More data is leaked during this week including copies of passports of case and crew members, employee complaints etc.
The hackers e-mail Sony employees a poorly worded threat, vowing to hurt them and their families if they don’t sign a statement repudiating the company.
Week Commencing Monday 8th December 2014
Further emails are leaked to the media and online, more threats are made from GOP. The Interview premieres amid tight security at the Ace Hotel’s theater in downtown Los Angeles.
A number of media sourses state that documents and spreadsheets were released with personal details of Sony employees to include medical conditions including cancer, premature births etc, none released the details at that time anyway.
On Sunday, a version of the script for Spectre, the next James Bond film which was stolen is released, MGM and Danjaq, which own the rights to the script, say that they will take all relevant actions to protect their rights with regards to it” For further details see http://deadline.com/2014/12/james-bond-spectre-script-stolen-sony-eon-productions-1201324726/
Leaked emails show that major movie companies are working together with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on a project aimed to stop a company known as “Goliath.”
theverge.com(4) state that “At the beginning of this year, the MPAA and six studios — Universal, Sony, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros., and Disney — joined together to begin a new campaign against piracy on the web. A January 25th email lays out a series of legally and technically ambitious new tools, including new measures that would block infringing sites from reaching customers of many major ISPs. Documents reviewed by The Verge detail the beginning of a new plan to attack piracy after the federal SOPA efforts failed by working with state attorneys general and major ISPs like Comcast to expand court power over the way data is served. If successful, the result would fundamentally alter the open nature of the internet.”
Image 3 theverge.com Project Goliath.
Week Commencing Monday 15th December 2014
Variety.com(5) report that at a town hall meeting “Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton and co-chair Amy Pascal told employees Monday that the cyber-security breach that exposed personal information and internal documents was a “criminal attack” that has challenged the studio but would not be its undoing.” and that it will not take Sony down.
The ibtimes.com(6) report “North Korea claims that it was not behind the attack, but investigators say that the malware on Sony’s system tried to connect to a network in North Korea, in addition to several other countries, the White House says. The North Korean government strictly controls the limited Internet access inside its borders, so investigators reportedly view the attempt as potential evidence that the devastating attack was sponsored by Kim Jong-un’s regime.” it continues to state that “Obama must deter North Korea from conducting similar attacks in the future, as well as countries like Russia and China, who are considered much greater threats to national cybersecurity.”
The deadline.com(3) report that on the 16th December the hacking group released another statement this time mentioning the movie for the first time.
theverge.com(7) release what they say is the full note which is as follows :
“Warning
We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places “The Interview” be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to.
Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made.
The world will be full of fear.
Remember the 11th of September 2001.
We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time.
(If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)
Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
All the world will denounce the SONY.”
The FBI inform Deadline.com(3) that they are aware of the threat and The Department of Homeland Security issues a statement saying that it has “no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters within the United States.”
Sony employees file a action suit claiming that the studio was negligent in not protecting their personal data. Sony tells theater owners they can pull The Interview if they are worried about those threats the hackers made earlier in the day. Carmike becomes the first chain to say it won’t show the film.
More data is dumped again this week to include emails from Sony Pictures Co-Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton.
Sony scrap the Christmas day release of the film after the cyber terrorists threaten to blow up theaters.
Deadline.com(3) report that Sony released the following statement “In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release,” Sony said in a statement, “We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers. Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
On Friday 19th December Deadline.com(3) report that Sony was contacted again by the hackers saying that it was a wise decision to not show ‘The Interview’ implying that as long as it was not realised the attacks would end. Deadline further tell us that the FBI confirmed that the attack was from North Korea, they quote the FBI as saying “As a result of our investigation, and in close collaboration with other U.S. Government departments and agencies, the FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions,” and “North Korea’s actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a U.S. business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves.””
Usatoday.com(8) report that President Obama is reported to have said that “Sony did the wrong thing when it backed down and pulled The Interview in the face of North Korean hacker threats, President Obama said at his new conference Friday.” they continue to report that he said I wish they had spoken to me first,” he said. “I would have told them do not get into a pattern in which you’re intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks.”
CNN.com(9) Quotes President Obama as saying at a white house conference “I am sympathetic to the concerns that they face. Having said all that, yes I think they made a mistake,”they continue that he said “We cannot have a society where some dictator someplace can impose censorship here in the U.S.”
North Korea invites the U.S. to take part in a joint investigation of the Sony attack, and warns of “serious consequences” if the U.S. retaliates.
Deadline.com(3) report that “In its harshest rhetoric to date, and claiming that the U.S. was behind the making ofThe Interview, North Korea threatens to attack ‘the White House, the Pentagon and the whole U.S. mainland’ after President Obama says the U.S. will ‘respond proportionally’ to North Korea’s cyber attack on Sony Pictures.”
Week Commencing 21st December 2014
The U.S. government calls on North Korea to compensate Sony Pictures for the cyber attack, even though the Hermit Kingdom continues to deny responsibility.
Variety.com(10) state that “Sony Pictures Entertainment is threatening Twitter with legal action and is calling on the social media platform to prevent its users from posting emails exposed during the recent hack of the studio. They state that a letter sent to Twitter’s general counsel by Sony Pictures’ attorney David Boies, the company threatens that if ‘stolen information continues to be disseminated by Twitter in any manner,’ Sony will ‘hold Twitter responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination by Twitter.‘”
Sony does an about-face and announces it will release The Interview on Christmas Day, President Obama praises Sony’s decision to release the film.
On the 24th December Sony makes The Interview available for rent online for $5.99 via YouTube Movies, Google Play, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and a dedicate site run by the studio.
References
1. Vox.com The Sony hack: how it happened, who is responsible, and what we’ve learned updated by Timothy B. Lee on December 17 2014
http://deadline.com/2014/12/sony-hack-timeline-any-pascal-the-interview-north-korea-1201325501/ retrieved 30/Dec/2014
2. uk.businessinsider.com A Timeline Of The Crazy Events In The Sony Hacking Scandal
http://uk.businessinsider.com/sony-cyber-hack-timeline-2014-12?r=US#ixzz3NOAcl7wj retrieved 29/Dec/2014
3. Deadline.com Sony Hack: A Timeline by David Robb 22 Dec 2014
http://deadline.com/2014/12/sony-hack-timeline-any-pascal-the-interview-north-korea-1201325501/ retrieved 28/Dec/2014
4. theverge.com Project Goliath: Inside Hollywood’s secret war against Google By Russell Brandom 12, Dec, 2014
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/12/7382287/project-goliath Retrieved 30/Dec/2014
5. Variety.com Sony Pictures CEO at Town Hall Meeting: ‘This Will Not Take Us Down’ Brent Lang Dec 15 2014
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-pictures-ceo-at-town-hall-meeting-this-will-not-take-us-down-1201379958/ Retrieved 27/Dec/2014
6. ibtimes.com Obama Looking For ‘Proportional’ Retaliation Over Hack Of Sony Corporation, White House Says By Thomas Halleck 19 Dec 2014
http://www.ibtimes.com/obama-looking-proportional-retaliation-over-hack-sony-corporation-white-house-says-1763286 Retrieved 30/Dec/2014
7. theverge.com Sony hackers threaten terror attacks against people who see The Interview in theaters By Jacob Kastrenakes on December 16, 2014
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/16/7402649/sony-hackers-threaten-terror-attacks-on-people-seeing-the-interview Retrieved 28/Dec/2014
8. usatoday.com Obama: Sony ‘did the wrong thing’ when it pulled movie By Elizabeth Weise, Kevin Johnson and Andrea Mandell, USA December 19, 2014
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2014/12/19/sony-the-interview-hackers-gop/20635449/ Retrieved 30/Dec/2014
9. CNN.com Hackers to Sony: We’ll stand down if you never release the movie By Brian Stelter 19 Dec, 2014
http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/19/media/insde-sony-hack-interview/ Retrieved 30/Dec/2014
10. variety.com Sony Threatens Legal Action Against Twitter After Users Post Hacked Emails by Marc Graser22 Dec 2014
http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/sony-threatens-legal-action-against-twitter-after-users-post-hacked-emails-1201385766/
Images
1. Image retrieved from Vox.com 30/Dec/2014
http://www.vox.com/2014/12/14/7387945/sony-hack-explained
2. Image retrieved from
http://uk.businessinsider.com/sony-cyber-hack-timeline-2014-12?r=US#ixzz3NOAcl7wj Retrieved 29/Dec/2014
3. Image retrieved from
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/12/7382287/project-goliath Retrieved 30/Dec/2014