Sticking it to the Man is one thing
This is just data-terrorism.
Disclosure: I'm no fan of Sony.
The Guardians of Peace, the hackers who plundered Sony Pictures' servers, has leaked more data swiped from the movie studio – and threatened a bigger document dump in the run up to Christmas in a set of sinister messages. It comes amid claims the Sony subsidiary's bosses knew its systems had been hacked, and sensitive …
"No fan of Sony either and don't like the targeting of staff, however if it does turnout that Sony knew they had been leaking data for 12 months, then f&*|< me Sony have a lot to answer for."
It makes sense, though - typical Japanese. A data breach of such magnitude would lose face, something the Japanese consider of utmost importance to maintain (see: Olympus scandal, the largest accounting fraud in history simply to save face; Mitsubishi scandal; etc.) It is a social value and therefore hard to overcome.
Worse than that. They've threatened to bankrupt Sony Pictures, if not Sony International, turning this into an existential threat. Sounds to me like they're still holding some "nuke": like private signing keys or perhaps evidence of serious criminal activity.
Sounds to me like they're still holding some "nuke": like private signing keys...
Already been done arstechnica.com/security/2014/12/hackers-promise-christmas-present-sony-pictures-wont-like/
"Already been done."
Not quite. These are private SSL and web-related keys. I'm talking more like hardware signing keys, the kinds of things that lock in their hardware. If those leaked out, it would be double whammy for them since it would provide the means not only to jailbreak but also potentially to install signed malware on them: possibly even without user intervention (or at least while making it look like a legitimate update).
Private signing keys are neither here nor there economically.
Disclosing conspiracies to behave illegally (EG, collusion in the Kim Dotcom shit) could easily take out not only Sony Pictures, but also a number of bent civil servants and politicians.
If that is the case, think of it as Watergate writ large.
+1
Embarrass the evil execs and pull the pants down of overpaid and pampered stars but give the average employees a break.
Disclosure: Another member of the never buy Sony again club.
PS I can live with data-terroism but what has happened in The Pakistan school today makes me weep just like Beslan.
"Embarrass the evil execs and pull the pants down of overpaid and pampered stars "
Oh grow the f*ck up. Those "evil" execs are just running a business. You might not like the capitalist system but too bad, it probably paid for your computer. And yes the stars might be pampered but if someone offed you millions would you turn it down? Real evil are psychopathic murderers like Isis or child killers. Get a f*cking sense of perspective.
@Boltar
Oh f0rk-off, I'd bet you are the first person who would complain when you are price gouged, screwed over a contract or a paying through the nose thanks to a cartel.. Oh and by the way you sanctimonious asshole I paid for my own computer through my own hard work and it would be probably cheaper if Intel had not bribed OEMs not to put AMD chips in PCs, plus the monitor might also have been cheaper if there wasn't an LCD panel cartel (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-10-1685_en.htm)
You get a sense of perspective and stop assuming businesses are lovey dovey cooperatives run by nice hippies. Ever hear of the Ford Pinto ? Google Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co. then tell me company bean counters are nice people.
"Oh f0rk-off, I'd bet you are the first person who would complain when you are price gouged, screwed over a contract or a paying through the nose thanks to a cartel.. "
Oh boo hoo, poor ickle you, you've obviously had such a hard life, almost on a par with starving refugees.
As for the rest of your standard issue left wing student post, thanks for reinforcing my point.
Oh f0rk-off, I'd bet you are the first person who would complain when you are price gouged, screwed over a contract or a paying through the nose thanks to a cartel..
Hey, hey, hey special snowflake. They make you pay, pay, pay for the willingly engaged-in entertainment.
You sound like someone who considers a salary as "exploitation".
@Boltar
I would say that the Walton family controlling more wealth than 40% of Americans is bordering on evil.
That's just one example off the top of my head.
Here's another. If you had a wage of say $20,000 per annum, buying an apple for you would be the equivalent of spending 400,000 dollars for Warren Buffett.
(I understand Mr Buffett to be a sensible man and this is not a personal attack on Mr Buffett, rather an observation of a messed up system (an opinion that he may well share))
http://pennystocks.la/warren-buffett/index.html
I do not like the capitalist system.
I also do not like psychopaths.
The perspective is, both groups cause harm.
>I would say that the Walton family controlling more wealth than 40% of Americans is bordering on evil.
There is a big difference between greed and evil. I suggest you read up on it.
>I do not like the capitalist system.
I'm sure North Korea will welcome you with open arms. Off you go...
>I suggest you read up on it, greed is one of the seven deadly sins and being sin is thus classed as evil.
>Your literary ignorance knows no bounds.
If you're refering to the bible then I'm afraid I don't hold much store by fairy tales. Got anything better?
"Oh grow the f*ck up. Those "evil" execs are just running a business. "
And? Doesn't mean they aren't sociopaths. In fact, given their actions and overwhleming hubris, I'd say that "sociopaths" is pretty likely. Cognate with fact that the executive and political layers are where sociopaths tend to congregate.
"Real evil are psychopathic murderers like Isis or child killers. Get a f*cking sense of perspective."
Evil comes in many forms. Just because a worse evil exists doesn't mean we shouldn't cheer the downfall of a lesser one.
Weep for the staff: many of them probably are as innocent as it is possible to be in such affairs. But for the executives? Nothing.
>And? Doesn't mean they aren't sociopaths. In fact, given their actions and overwhleming hubris, I'd say >that "sociopaths" is pretty likely.
So what? They're still just running an entertainment company, not a government. No one is forced to buy any of Sonys products so if you don't like them them take your money elsewhere and quit the tedious self righteous teenage BS. Its pathetic.
It doesn't matter what you run, if you are unable to act with some semblance of decency and honour to your clients/citizens/subjects then I will cheer your downfall. Just like I will cheer the downfall, humiliation and ruination of any sociopath. Yourself included.
You may think it's "adult" to champion greed and worship self interest, but you're wrong. There's nothing "grown up" about it. That's just Randian douchbaggery. It's not cool. It's not mature. It's just an indication that you're a bad person.
Now, what is "grown up" is realizing that we all have to share this world with one another, and thus striving to treat others with respect and honour. And that means ostracizing those that act only in self their own self interest. (See: tragedy of the commons as a starting point. I realize Ethics for Randians is futile, but maybe you can go rage on Wikipedia instead of wasting your time professing your love for unrestrained capitalism here.)
Sony is run bad bad people who treat others badly. Those who run it deserve no sympathy and no compassion, for they have evidenced non, and demonstrated a great deal of malice, which they have acted up from positions of power.
If you are unable to see that as evil, then sir, you aren't "grown up" at all. You're just an evil wannabe.
>You may think it's "adult" to champion greed and worship self interest, but you're wrong. There's nothing
>"grown up" about it.
Self interest is the driving force behind most human motivation. You think people work 5 days a week because they love their company so much? As for greed - it might be a vice but its also a powerful driving force that indirectly can lead to a good end. If you're not smart enough to see that then thats your loss.
As for the rest of your hippy waffle - save it for the commune, I'm not interested.
"Embarrass the evil execs and pull the pants down of overpaid and pampered stars but give the average employees a break."
Well, personally, I'd leave the "stars" out of it too, but by all means go after the executives, management and the body corporate. With all guns blazing.
Except now you are also supporting terriorism by association.
By supporting GOP, you are also supporting their threats of cinema bombings. How does that make you ANY different to the Taliban?
So how your "morals" can go so badly wrong, so very quickly.
You internet fueled hatred of Sony has turned YOU into a terrorist.
@AC well now lets see:
The USA created and funded Al-Qaeda as a means to use terrorism to fight the Russian presence in Afghanistan, so by your logic buying any American goods or services supports terrorism. So as Sony pictures are headquartered in the USA, purchasing any Sony pictures products leads to me indirectly funding terrorism. Thus Sony has made me a terrorist.
Although I truly didn't like Sony brand (to put it mildly) due to their attempts with DRM stuff hurting paying customers, this is really bad. This situation hurts creative people and their general staff far more than the bunch of morons responsible for those bad calls (especially as they are likely outside SPE).
Frankly, I think this may endager Sony as a whole given the circumstances and likelihood of these leaks to continue. They'll lose staff, contracts (publishing those could lead to messy lawsuits).
Let this be a warning to other firms, especially in system security area. And DRM - it brings bad mojo :)
" due to their attempts with DRM stuff hurting paying customers"
LOL, what a tool this guy is. Apple, Microsoft are FAR worse than Sony for this.... Seems like you have been brainwashed by the internet, another one of the plebs that got all their rootkit information from Wikipedia.
.. that you wouldn't want to be read out in public. If you assume all email, Web browsing, and other chatter is recorded and able to be played back to damage your reputation, then a mindset like this offers much protection.
This is not paranoia; authorised corporate surveillance tools, malware, search engine databases, ISPs hijacking, hackers and the TLA agencies monitoring - these are all real and present today.
Snowden revelations shows this to be true, and attacks on Sony and Target are just the visible tip of the iceberg.
Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching you :)
Hopefully, they'll find somebody @SPE who is responsible for the gross neglect of data-security standards and IT best practises. Some laws were probably broken, too, the way all that (sometimes highly confidential) data has been handled.
If they desperately want to send someone to prison, they should start there.
That would send a message to CEOs and CIOs to take this stuff more serious.
As for the GOP - it might be true that they sit in a country that doesn't do extradictions...
"That would send a message to CEOs and CIOs to take this stuff more serious."
Only if they (C-level execs) are personally held responsible and accountable. If they can shift the blame to one of their employees, they will. I'd be curious to hear who gets a bonus at SPE this year...
Depends what you mean by gross neglect...
Many places do follow best practices, and yet are still highly vulnerable. Quite often the technology they are using is fundamentally flawed, and securing it is either not possible or horribly impractical.
Most companies have horrendously insecure internal networks, which are hidden from the outside world behind firewalls... But once you get a foothold inside, and there are many ways to do that (eg lure them to a website to exploit their browser, the firewall may block inbound connections but it will usually allow some form of outbound) the whole network is wide open for attack.
You know they're going to make a movie about this, starring Seth Rogen as the indomitable and incompetent head of Sony IT. Angelina Jolie can play Amy Pascal. Kim Jong Il can play himself.
I feel sorry for the innocents who were hurt by these leaks, but Sony management had it coming. Yes, Kim Jong Il is a proper bastard, but he's still a head of state. Downvote me if you like, but making a movie-joke about his assassination was JUST PLAIN STUPID AND IRRESPONSIBLE. And Pascal "green-lighted" the project. Now its stars are whining about how America should stand behind their employer, while they cry all the way to the bank. Say What?! The press coverage is the best PR that movie could ever hope for and it isn't costing Sony a penny.
And let's face it: This saga is way more interesting than any movie Sony has produced lately.
I agree with most of what you are saying was certainly naive or irresponsible to expect the Nork's wouldn't respond. Would have to disagree with you saying it isn't costing them a penny, even if this film goes on to make Avatar money which comedies never do I bet the losses due to this long term are still far higher.
Downvote me if you like, but making a movie-joke about his assassination was JUST PLAIN STUPID AND IRRESPONSIBLE.
I am ambivalent about this.
I have heard about Hillary gloating on comera* about the frank assassination of the Lybian head of state, hounded by all the proper propaganda and JDAM delivery gear that liberal interventionists with neocon boosters can bring to bear. Yet nothing happened. Indeed, Madame is actually, possibly running for the presidential office.
comera: I thought I would fix that typo but then I decided to let it be
"I have heard about Hillary gloating on comera* about the frank assassination of the Lybian head of state"
Madam has nuclear weapons. Sony has lobbyists.
What one can get away with I suspect may be greater than the hijinx the other could be reasonably expected to be able to pursue.
How many of us work in IT?
How many of us could be the ones on the front line of "you f&&ked up, you're gone" in this case? Or are most of us too damned egotistical to realize that, yes indeed, in your IT space THIS COULD HAPPEN.
Get your heads out.
This is just stupid. Yes, its Sony Pictures Entertainment. Yes its a massive conglomerate that tends to run roughshod over standards, IP law, DRM etc. But I can assure you there are 2 or 3 dozen IT folks in there that are no longer employed. Very likely NOT because they are incompetent, but rather because they were sitting on the wrong stool at the wrong moment.
I'll bet long odds that the few folks that pointed out that this leak was happening were the first ones out the damned door. Too much risk leaving them around.
Unless "the damned door" was an airlock, I don't see how firing them does much good - they would then have zero disincentive to take/leak it to the media, right? To say nothing of potentially exacerbating the security issue - they'd then have external entities inside their network, and unhappy former-internal entities able to exploit that situation and make it substantially worse. Well, worse according to what they knew at the time, anyway - right now "worse" is where they're very definitely at.
Firing is, it seems to me, a normal company response with those who have been fired under mandate (legal, severance policies, etc.) to not say a word. The threats usually work.
Usually the early notifiers, whistleblowers, or whatever you wish to call them, take the blame. The fact the CIO stepped down recently doesn't help. I'm sure the internal good-ol'-boy network is closing ranks. Someone in the company has to take the heat and it's never management. One of every company's unwritten rules is: "The job of management is to protect management.". Everyone else is cannon fodder.
"But I can assure you there are 2 or 3 dozen IT folks in there that are no longer employed."
I cannot disagree with you more. There may have been two or three dozen IT staff fired. Sure, okay, why not? But I bet they were subsequently hired on for more money elsewhere.
They witnessed the creation of an infrastructure that allowed this to happen. Their experience in what not to do - from levels ranging from technical to political - is now invaluable. If you are former Sony IT, you'll have no trouble getting work. Lots of people now want your help preventing this from happening to them.
If there are people to weep for, it won't be IT. It will be mid-wage types who get canned when it all goes south. The low wage workers will always be in demand and have no trouble finding work. The excutive layer can cover themselves in wax and serve as candles, they deserve it. But the mid-wage earners will be the ones who have the hardest time finding jobs. Accountants, administrative, HR, etc. The back office staff that make the wheels turn.
"But I bet they were subsequently hired on for more money elsewhere."
You are right.
I've seen plenty of utterly incompetent IT staff get (finally!) laid off and then they're picked up at the next company with higher salaries - of course - just because they were competent at polishing their Linkedin CV's and/or they have mad skillz at oral BS.
I've been following our company's firewall statistics for some time now, and the top two bandwidth hogs are a pay-per-view golf channel and a distant second is Linkedin. How fucked is that?
"I'll bet long odds that the few folks that pointed out that this leak was happening were the first ones out the damned door. Too much risk leaving them around."
Logically this would be a bad idea. Now the law suits have started they'd be star witnesses. OTOH logic & big media?
So remind me, exactly what is the aim here? What do these self-styled "Guardians" wish to achieve?
And incoming clue missile GOOies: You don't speak for me or represent me in any way, shape or form. If you wish to continue breaking the law, go for it. I look forward to the welter of Asperger Defense Ploys to come. But don't pretend this is anything more than personal. I want nothing to do with your Worked Example In Irony.
So remind me, exactly what is the aim here? What do these self-styled "Guardians" wish to achieve?
Chaos. That is all. Even if they leak Sony into bankruptcy, other corporate entities will fill the gap.
"The Interview" movie still confounds me. No one has mentioned that only two days before 11 September 2001, a bogus news team used the cover of an interview to assassinate Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, a pro-Western, anti-Taliban insurgency. That might have been a clue of what was to come, but AFAIK it didn't register as such at the time. Massoud was killed by a bomb, apparently as in this new movie. Maybe I'm just too rational to see how you could turn an event like that into a comedy. I hope Sony loses a fortune on this one, but no one ever went broke, etc.....