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

a reply to: MKMoniker

I know that my Sony TV is uploading data that i would prefure it didn't but they are not as bad as Samsung smart TVs

These TVs use DLNA to browser your network and its a good bet that they opload all the media file names back to servers so maybe this group is telling them to cut it out

The hackers i fear work for the government and are not trying to install software to create fake impressions for add-servers and yeah, I have black tape over the lens of my camera even when the device has been disabled in windows.

a reply to: VirusGuard

Thanks for your post!

"I know that my Sony TV is uploading data that i would prefure it didn't but they are not as bad as Samsung smart TVs."

This is more about advertisers using Big Data to track users' preferences, for targeted-ads to people who have already expressed an interest (and spent money) on same or similar products.

Yeah, there is good and bad surveillance "enabled" by most every electronic product/devices anymore. I'd be more worried about a armed drone being fed biometric faces "to be eliminated," than whatever's tracking my on-line interests...

******************************************************************************************************************

Interesting account about the tussle over "The Interview", which started before the hack:

www.huffingtonpost.com...
SONY CEO IN JAPAN ORDERED "THE INTERVIEW" TONED DOWN
"The comedy, slated for U.S. release on Dec. 25, is about journalists played by Seth Rogen and James Franco who are hired by the CIA to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"According to emails that span from August through October and were obtained by Reuters, Hirai asked Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, to change a key shot in the film. It depicts Kim struck by a tank shell, causing his head to explode.

"Rogen responded by promising to remove three of four burn marks on Kim's face, and reduce the "flaming hair" by 50 percent. But he said he could not meet all the demands. "The head explosion can't be more obscured than it is because we honestly feel that if it's any more obscured, you won't be able to tell it's exploding and the joke won't work," he said."

(Exploding head and flaming hair? Oh the irony! I doubt anyone outside Asia would ever pay to see this "comedy" ...)

finance.yahoo.com...

SONY LAUNCHES COUNTERATTACK ON HACKERS - USING THEIR OWN TACTICS
"Re/code is reporting that Sony is using Amazon Web Services to rent cloud computer power and aim traffic at sites offering the company's files for download.

"Sony's attack is actually similar to a tactic used by cybercriminals. When hackers want to take down a website, they point huge amounts of internet traffic at it. That's called a "distributed denial of service" attack. Sony is essentially doing the same thing to fight back against hackers.

"Sony is using Amazon's online cloud computing supplier to create a flood of fake "seed" sources for the stolen documents, which are available as torrent files (a peer-to-peer file-sharing service that lets dozens of people share bits of files simultaneously). Anyone requesting a torrent copy of the seed file is likely to get a fake seed — and thus won't get the documents.

"The tactic of frustrating internet users into quitting their illicit activity is one that Hollywood has been doing for years. Major movie studios upload fake copies of mainstream movies to file-sharing sites. Users realize the files are fake only after spending hours downloading them, which movie studios hope will deter them from illegal file sharing in the future."

www.aol.com...|mai n5|dl2|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D583358

SONY HACKERS NOW THREATEN 9/11-STYLE TERROR ATTACKS ON THEATERS SHOWING "THE INTERVIEW".
"The Guardians of Peace (GOP) have threatened mass-scale terror attacks against theaters showing "The Interview," a Sony film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco that satirizes the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.

"The threats were disseminated from a message left on filesharing services that contain links to the leaked documents, according to BuzzFeed.

"We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places [sic] 'The Interview' be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to," the chilling message reads.

"Threats were previously made by the hackers against the families of Sony employees. "Your family will be in danger," the hackers told workers at the movie studio. In response, management had employees shut off all handheld devices with access to email or the corporate network.

"The movie studio has not indicated it will change the movie's premiere date. Meanwhile, two former Sony employees filed a federal lawsuit against Sony on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. district court in Calif. and is seeking class-action status, alleges that Sony executives knew the company was vulnerable to a cyber-attack, but never took the proper measures to remedy its security flaws."

www.nytimes.com... lines&nlid=49939149&_r=0

QUANDRY FOR SONY IN TERROR THREATS OVER "THE INTERVIEW"
"Sony Pictures Entertainment, the F.B.I., theater owners and competing film studios scrambled on Tuesday to deal with a threat of terrorism against movie theaters that show Sony’s “The Interview,” a raunchy comedy about the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

"On Tuesday night, Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema said it had canceled the film’s New York premiere scheduled for this week; its Los Angeles premiere was held Dec. 11 without incident.

"Late Tuesday, a person with knowledge of Sony’s dealings, said that the theater chain Carmike Cinemas had canceled its showings of the movie. Carmike could not be reached for comment."

www.latimes.com...

NATION'S TOP THEATERS BAIL ON "THE INTERVIEW" IN WAKE OF HACKERS' THREAT
"Regal, AMC and Cinemark -- the three largest chains in the U.S. -- have decided not to screen “The Interview” when it debuts on Christmas Day in the wake of threats made by Sony hackers, said people familiar with the decision. The chains have asked Sony to postpone the release date of the controversial film.

"New York-based Bow Tie Cinemas also said Wednesday it was scrapping plans to screen the Sony comedy at its 55 movie theaters, which have roughly 350 screens. Bow Tie is one of the oldest theater chains in the country with theaters in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Colorado.

"At an emergency meeting of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, Sony executives told owners that they could drop the film from their holiday schedules without breaching their contractual agreements or jeopardizing future bookings of Sony films."

www.aol.com...|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D584457

U.S. PROBE PROVES LINKAGE BETWEEN N.KOREA AND SONY HACKING
"Federal investigators have now connected the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. to North Korea, a U.S. official said Wednesday, though it remained unclear how the federal government would respond to a break-in that exposed sensitive documents and ultimately led to terrorist threats against moviegoers.

"A security professional with knowledge of the breach also said investigators had strong circumstantial evidence and technical commonalities pointing to North Korea... The disclosure about North Korea's involvement came just after Sony hired FireEye Inc.'s Mandiant forensics unit, which last year published a landmark report with evidence accusing a Chinese Army organization, Unit 61398, of hacking into more than 140 companies over the years.

"In the Sony breach, investigators first examined the malware, or malicious software, from the cyberattack. That was key because it had many commonalities with pre-existing malware - specifically Operation Troy and DarkSeoul. These were used in North Korea-linked cyberattacks on South Korean media and its financial institutions in recent years, according to the security professional. In the end, a singular IP address in Bolivia seemed to match the server used in the DarkSeoul attack, while two others led to Singapore and Thailand.

www.nytimes.com... d=49939149&_r=0

SONY ATTACK IS UNRAVELING RELATIONSHIPS IN HOLLYWOOD
"Sony shelved “The Interview,” about the assassination of the North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un, after cancellations by theater owners in the face of a terrorist threat. The studio on Thursday was searching for ways to eventually disseminate the film, but, for the moment, it could find none.

"Satellite operators, cable providers, or digital portals that might be asked to pick up “The Interview” could be exposed to the same online harassment plaguing Sony."

"Prominent members of Hollywood’s creative community fumed about what they saw as failure by Sony to make a stand for artistic freedom. Steve Carell called it “a sad day for creative expression,” while Zach Braff described Sony’s move as “a pretty horrible precedent to set.” The filmmaker Judd Apatow and the documentarian Michael Moore also took to social media to lament the demise of “The Interview” as caving to the hackers.

"The studio’s relationship with Adam Sandler, the star of Sony comedies like “Grown Ups” and its coming summer tent pole “Pixels,” got singed when online news sites published unvarnished executive complaints about his “mundane, formulaic” films.

"Financiers are unsure whether to proceed with planned deals to back Sony films, as some talent agents — worried about management stability at Sony and long-term chaos — consider funneling scripts elsewhere."

(NOTE: My personal feelings about this fiasco are mixed. On one hand, I fully support the right of creative artists to produce a product for public consumption. But there should be some unspoken "standards" within each artist. "The Interview" was about the (comedic?) assassination of a current, living world leader. How could Sony have NOT expected some fall-out?)

Any other views?

www.yahoo.com...

FORGET THE POLITICS, SONY EXECUTIVES SAY NORTH KOREA COMEDY "DESPERATELY UNFUNNY"
"The comedy on the fictional assassination of North Korea's leader is "desperately unfunny" and would have flopped overseas if it had not been cancelled, according to leaked e-mails of international executives of Sony Pictures.

"The unanimous point of view here is that this (is) another misfire from the pairing," said an e-mail purportedly written by Peter Taylor, of Sony Pictures UK.

"Taylor said the film was "desperately unfunny and repetitive," and "James Franco proves once again that irritation is his strong suit which is a shame because the character could have been appealing and funny out of his hands."

"Taylor and other executives agreed that the first half hour of the film, which features a satirical interview with hip-hop artist Eminem, was amusing but was later overshadowed by "realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie".

"Staff in Holland said the film was "unbalanced," and a French executive said the film went too far. "Seth Rogen's humour doesn't really translate," the executive said.

"Sony staff in Taiwan said the film "didn't stand a chance" in their market, according to the e-mails. Australian executives, however, enjoyed the film and requested lead actor Franco lead a promotional tour of the country.

"British executives were less enthusiastic. "Tour-wise, our choice would be to have no one. However if this is not an option (and I suspect it isn't) then we would like the lot," Taylor said. "Not just Rogen and (writer Evan) Goldberg, but God help us Franco as well."

Life-Hack!

fortune.com...
SONY EMPLOYEE EXPLAINS THE MEGA-HACK FROM AN INSIDER PERSPECTIVE
"An employee* in the Los Angeles office of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE -2.65%) opened up to Fortune about the personal ordeal they went through following revelations of North Korea’s alleged cyber attack on the company. What follows is their words, condensed and edited for clarity."

(Corporations have their own "Disaster Recovery" plans, in terms of duplicate files and distant servers. (Although it doesn't look like Sony Entertainment had such a plan in place.) But they usually don't cover employees' vulnerabilities. So this article may be a good tutorial for "Employee Disaster Recovery" plans.

The Sony hacker/terrorists have been issuing a steady stream of petty threats, which I haven't posted. Sony's CEO says that "The Interview" will be released - sometime. (I never thought they'd just "put it on the Internet for free" with no review stream.) And the pair who made "The Interview" are now saying they will make a follow-up to "The Interview" that will be even harsher.

But now this strange story is morph'ing yet again, and playing into more "war bluster" from Kim Jong Un. (Remember a year or so ago, when Google's Eric Schmidt and the ex-governor of New Mexico suddenly went to North Korea? And how KJU was issuing war-threats and other nonsense for about six months after?)

news.yahoo.com...
NORTH KOREA THREATENS TO STRIKE U.S. AMID HACKING CLAIMS

(But, hey, Ebola-in-the-U.S. had dropped out of sight, Team Obama's Race War is stumbling, and they've only got a few weeks before the newly elected Congressmen take office. Let's close out the year with more stress and ultimately ignored "rotating issues of potential catastrophe!"

(And forget the "fiscal year." Check out the billions in Defense contracts alone awarded on December 31 st!)

originally posted by: VirusGuard
a reply to: MKMoniker

I know that my Sony TV is uploading data that i would prefure it didn't but they are not as bad as Samsung smart TVs

These TVs use DLNA to browser your network and its a good bet that they opload all the media file names back to servers so maybe this group is telling them to cut it out

You "know" really nothing. This is nothing but paranoid speculation. Show us proof of how SONY or Samsung etc. is uploading filenames which would be a MASSIVE violation of privacy and a major scandal.

Rest assured, if there would be data uploaded we would know this. You can monitor and sniff network traffic, for example.

Another ATS discussion is reporting that North Korea is currently under a Massive Cyber Attack:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

The cyber-attack on North Korea - as well as Kim Jong Un's blustery threats - has dropped out of the news for now. Although this is interesting:

www.nytimes.com... &nlid=49939149&_r=0
SONY, IN ABOUT-FACE, WILL SCREEN "THE INTERVIEW" IN A LIMITED RUN
“The Interview,” the raucous comedy that became the center of a dispute over cybersecurity between the United States and North Korea, will be released in a small number of theaters on Christmas Day after all, Sony Pictures said on Tuesday.

"The development gave new life to a film that Sony had pulled from distribution last week, after hackers threatened violence against any theater that played it.

"Sony also left open the door to video-on-demand availability of the movie, either simultaneously with its debut in theaters, or nearly so.


www.miamiherald.com...=5-Minute_Herald
"THE INTERVIEW" TO OPEN IN SOUTH FLORIDA ON CHRISTMAS DAY
"Add South Florida to the list of places you’ll be able to see the controversial Seth Rogen The Interview on Christmas Day. The movie will start showing at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Swap Shop 13 Screen Drive-In Theater, 3291 Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale.

"More than 200 other theaters across the country, including venues in Key West, Atlanta, Baltimore, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Dallas/Fort Worth among others, have also agreed to show the film.

"Preston Henn, the owner of the landmark drive-in, says he had no reservations about booking the film, despite bomb threats made by a group of hackers backed by North Korea. “I wouldn’t be playing it if I did,” Henn said. “I’m a Republican, but I was very proud of what President [Barack] Obama said about the threats. Who’s afraid of that North Korean ass---- anyway?”

Another ATS discussion - started by a Moderator familiar with ATS' own DDoS last week - is claiming that Sony really attacked itself:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

In this bizarre story, now a new twist:

www.dailymail.co.uk... med-Lena-responsible.html
MULTIPLE SECURITY EXPERTS NOW SAY NORTH KOREA WAS "NOT" BEHIND THE SONY HACK
"The FBI last week announced that they had discovered conclusive evidence proving the North Korean government was behind the Sony hack. President Obama then attacked the country for their behavior during a news conference, and informed them that the United States would retaliate

"Now, the findings of the FBI are being called into question by many of the cybersecurity industry's leading experts. What's more, after an independent investigation, Norse has determined that they believe a woman named 'Lena' is responsible for the hack.

"Almost every expert stated that they believe the hack had to have been an inside job."

Meanwhile, the first reviews are in for "The Interview." Proving yet again that Real Life can prove more interesting than yet another so-so bro-medy:

www.yahoo.com...
"THE INTERVIEW" - WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
"The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy calls it “an intensely sophomoric and rampantly uneven comic takedown of an easy but worrisomely unpredictable target, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In the relatively sparse annals of irreverent major studio comedies that pissed off foreign nations, for big laughs this one doesn’t rate anywhere near Borat or Team America: World Police. … As political satire goes, The Interview has the comic batting average of a mediocre-to-average Saturday Night Live sketch, with a few potent laughs erupting from an overall mash of sex, drugs and TV broadcasting jokes that feel rooted in a sense of humor primarily characterized by a frat-boy/altered state/prolonged adolescence mind-set.”

www.yahoo.com...

TAKE ONE PO'D EX-EMPLOYEE WITH HALF A DOZEN EUROPEAN AND ASIAN HACKTAVISTS = SONY'S MEGA-HACK
"According to The Security Ledger, Norse has found evidence that “a group of six individuals is behind the hack, at least one a former Sony Pictures Entertainment employee who worked in a technical role and had extensive knowledge of the company’s network and operations.”

"Norse said it identified one former employee who he described as having a ‘very technical background,'” The Security Ledger writes. “Researchers from the company followed that individual online, noting angry posts she mad e on social media about the layoffs and Sony. Through access to IRC (Internet Relay Chat) forums and other sites, they were also able to capture communications with other individuals affiliated with underground hacking and hacktivist groups in Europe and Asia.”

I continue to believe that the Sony hack was an inside job by one vicious ex-IT employee named "Lena." How did she know where to look for "global hacktavists"? She may have been battling same while employed by Sony!

www.dailytech.com...
(June 2011) SONY CONTINUES HARASSING MODDING/HACKING COMMUNITY - EVEN AS IT FACES RECORD NUMBER OF INTRUSIONS

Or maybe you prefer the "Hybrid Story" of the mega-hack:

techcrunch.com...
SONY HACKERS CLAIM THEY "WORKED WITH SONY EMPLOYEES WITH SIMILAR INTERESTS" TO PULL OFF THE SONY HACK

I still believe this was an "inside job," a fired IT worker at Sony with additional hacktivists from around the world. But the government is pushing the "state-sponsored" angle hard. I'm thinking the gov. might be setting us up for another attack/war. (Check the sidebar articles; another headline is "U.S. Weighs Response to Sony Cyberattack, With North Korea Confrontation Possible.")

Here's the latest:

www.nytimes.com...
N.S.A. BREACHED NORTH KOREAN NETWORKS BEFORE SONY ATTACK, OFFICIALS SAY

Not much here that is new. So NSA broke into N. Korea's Internet, and later introduced some malware. The N.S.A. does that every day, all over the world.

But if this IS a set-up Team Obama is determined to ramp up to a military confrontation, here's their Modus Operandi, based on their previous attempts over Syria, Ebola and a "race war":

1) A "triggering event" is blown up in the media.

2) The media continues provocative language over the TE, while reporting non-news about the "declared enemy" that is supposedly behind the TE.

3) Polls are taken, with careful wording to gauge how much of the public is supportive of "governmental action."

4) The gov. instructs the media to follow the new mantra being preached in our grad schools everywhere: "Facts" are less important then the "Narrative". So spin the story whichever way you want, to help set up a False Flag confrontation. (Which is why this story has gone from blaming N. Korea, to "signatures" of a fired IT worker at Sony, and now back to N. Korea. But you know the elitists theory: Never waste a provocative act that can be stoked into war.)

variety.com...
(Dec. 2014) SONY ATTACK: FBI INSISTS N.KOREA DID IT - SECURITY EXPERTS DOUBT THAT

Cyber-security experts still think it was an inside job, due to the speed with which SPE's network was breached. And because the subsequent release of information indicated that the hacker(s) had insider knowledge of the internal workings of a film studio - and Hollywood politics.

Here's the latest:

internet.gawker.com...
VETERAN HACKER POSITIVE THE RUSSIANS HACKED SONY
And they're still inside Sony's network, he thinks ...

thehill.com...
SONY EXECUTIVE TO STEP DOWN WHEN CONTRACT ENDS IN MARCH
Amy Pascal will exit to form her own production company, which will still be affiliated with Sony.

And here's another story from December that thinks the Sony Hack was an inside job:

gawker.com...
A LOT OF SMART PEOPLE DON'T THINK NORTH KOREA HACKED SONY
One is sure it was an insider with "revenge" motivation.