Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas

Hard Truth said:

If Sony had released the movie and if the distributors and theaters accepted it and and if an attack happened, Sony would take much of the blame, face massive lawsuits and suffer an even worse PR problem than they have now. Chances are many of the same people currently criticizing Sony for pulling the film would be even more critical towards them if there was a violent attack. They are in a no-win situation.

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solletica said:

The only way to have decent security is for the NSA to control everyone's network, and fortunately, that will never happen.

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Henrin said:

Who cares? The movie looks terrible anyway.

Hey Sony, try making a movie that doesn't suck.

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instagramsci said:

This is being taken way too seriously

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Wessex said:

Who here would want to volunteer to suffer from any theoretical consequences that turned real?

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ReverendHellh0und said:

I wonder if we are being prepped for the next war:

DIA: North Korea Planned Attacks on US Nuclear Plants | Washington Free Beacon



I can see what you are saying, I don't know it's a good point.

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Two days after saying it wouldn't release the controversial film, the movie maker now says it wants to offer customers a way to see it "on a different platform."

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donsutherland1 said:

One can't assume all risks are equal. The law enforcement and intelligence communities both said that there is no credible or specific threat. The probability of a bad outcome is extremely low. Treating the extremely low probability outcome as a likely one does not make any more sense than, let's say, my choosing to stay indoors today on account of cloudy weather out of the extremely low probability of a lightning strike even as no convection has been detected on the radar. Rational behavior needs to consider realistic appraisals of risk. The hackers' threat did not constitute something that should have impacted people's attending the movies, much less justified Sony's widely-visible capitulation.

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Dittohead not! said:

Sony to release 'The Interview' after all?


Publicity stunt? Wait and see.

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Wessex said:

I agree that the risk is probably low, but it's more accurate to say that it is unknowable. One thing we do know about virtually all terrorist attacks is that they are unexpected, low-probability and extremely vicious. Who would have expected anyone to blow up the Murrah Federal Building or set off bombs at the finish line of a marathon?

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ReverendHellh0und said:

Another thought....

They "claim" North Korea, I'd like to see the evidence. Not saying it's not, but I long stopped believing scare stories from our government.

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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. While the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information, our conclusion is based, in part, on the following:
Technical analysis of the data deletion malware used in this attack revealed links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed. For example, there were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods, and compromised networks.
The FBI also observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the U.S. government has previously linked directly to North Korea. For example, the FBI discovered that several Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with known North Korean infrastructure communicated with IP addresses that were hardcoded into the data deletion malware used in this attack.
Separately, the tools used in the SPE attack have similarities to a cyber attack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

donsutherland1 said:

From the FBI's news release:

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. While the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information, our conclusion is based, in part, on the following:
[emoji828]Technical analysis of the data deletion malware used in this attack revealed links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed. For example, there were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods, and compromised networks.
[emoji828]The FBI also observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the U.S. government has previously linked directly to North Korea. For example, the FBI discovered that several Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with known North Korean infrastructure communicated with IP addresses that were hardcoded into the data deletion malware used in this attack.
[emoji828]Separately, the tools used in the SPE attack have similarities to a cyber attack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

FBI — Update on Sony Investigation

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donsutherland1 said:

From the FBI's news release:

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. While the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information, our conclusion is based, in part, on the following:
Technical analysis of the data deletion malware used in this attack revealed links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed. For example, there were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods, and compromised networks.
The FBI also observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the U.S. government has previously linked directly to North Korea. For example, the FBI discovered that several Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with known North Korean infrastructure communicated with IP addresses that were hardcoded into the data deletion malware used in this attack.
Separately, the tools used in the SPE attack have similarities to a cyber attack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

FBI — Update on Sony Investigation

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ReverendHellh0und said:

Quite vague, and highly circumstantial. if such malware is in the wild, concrete proof would have to be greater than this. I have little doubt they are behind it given their threats. but this evidence alone is rather weak.


Remember who we are dealing with here:

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BmanMcfly said:

Exactly, and it is a relatively simple of a process to spoof location data to appear as though you are anywhere in the world, if one were so inclined.

Seriously, North Korea can barely keep the lights on, and all of a sudden they are the elite hackers of the world.

I would believe China, or a disgruntled employee with inside knowledge of their systems, would be far more likely...

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Jack Hays said:

Do not make the assumption that everything known has been made public.

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donsutherland1 said:

Reuters Breaking News Headline:

Breaking News: Sony Pictures authorizes Christmas Day release of film 'The Interview': Dallas cinema

I'm happy to see that Sony is now making a u-turn from its disastrous decision to pull the film. As noted in earlier stories today, the narrative that all the theater chains had wanted the film pulled had no merit. Instead, the film chains had wanted a somewhat limited release to "test" the credibility of threats. In other words, there never was a reason for Sony to pull the film in entirety. With Sony's narrative in shambles, this move can perhaps begin the proverbial healing process. Still, it will take time to erase the consequences of capitulating to North Korea's maximum demands.

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BmanMcfly said:

Right, a country that can barely keep the lights on is responsible for an extremely sophisticated cyber attack that brought a multimillion dollar corporation to its knees...

I smell bs (not on your part, the report)

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idea_steed said:

You underestimate the military department of NK. Even if the majority of civilians are starving and in severe lack of necessities, the military will be supported at all cost. Mind you, Kim's bro even studied in Europe. NK government may be a lunatic and control freak but it is not dumb enough to overlook the significance of self defense, the big part of which is the ability to carry a cyber attack. So your doubt that NK is impotent to hack Sony is unnecessary and dangerous if you were in charge of the FBI. Dont underestimate NK.

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BmanMcfly said:

Ya, I'm sure they networked a bunch of commodore 64 machines.

plus, now they are pointing out the obvious, the evidence points to a disgruntled former employee.

http://rt.com/usa/217495-sony-hack-fbi-north-korea/

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/25/391797/sony-hacking-inside-job-us-experts/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...gs-reveal-insider-named-Lena-responsible.html

So, ya, North Korea should not be dismissed militarily, especially to it's neighbour's. I would believe south Koreans could pull off such an attack, but north korea doesn't have the infrastructure to sustain this kind of attack.

And again, location data can be spoofed relatively easily.

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