Breaking News: Sony Pictures to officially name North Korea as source of hack attack: Re/code
Eight days after a
massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Hollywood
studio was still struggling to restore some systems on Tuesday evening
as investigators combed for evidence to identify the culprit.
Some employees at the Sony Corp (6758.T)
entertainment unit were given new computers to replace ones that had
been attacked with the rare data-wiping virus, which had made their
machines unable to operate, according to a person with knowledge of
Sony's operations.
In a memo to
staff seen by Reuters, studio co-chiefs Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal
acknowledged that "a large amount of confidential Sony Pictures
Entertainment data has been stolen by the cyber attackers, including
personnel information and business documents."
They
are "not yet sure of the full scope of information that the attackers
have or might release," according to the memo first reported by Variety,
and encouraged employees to take advantage of identity protection
services being offered.
Their
concern underscores the severity of the breach, which experts say is the
first major attack on a U.S. company to use a highly destructive class
of malicious software that is designed to make computer networks unable
to operate.
Government
investigators led by the FBI are considering multiple suspects in the
attack, including North Korea, according to a U.S. national security
official with knowledge of the investigation.
The FBI said Tuesday that it is working with its counterparts in Sony's home country of Japan in the investigation.
That
comes after it warned U.S. businesses on Monday about hackers' use of
malicious software and suggested ways to defend themselves. The warning
said some of the software used by the hackers had been compiled in
Korean, but it did not discuss any possible connection to North Korea.
SONY'S TROUBLES
The hack, which was launched Nov. 24, only affected computers with Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Windows software, so Sony employees using Apple Inc (AAPL.O)
Macs, including many in the marketing department, had not been
affected, according to the person familiar with Sony's operations, who
was not authorized to publicly discuss the attack.
Sony
Pictures Entertainment shut down its internal computer network last
week to prevent the data-wiping software from causing further damage,
forcing employees to use paper and pen.
The
studio has brought some systems back on line, focusing first on those
from which the company generates revenues, including those involved with
marketing and distributing its films and TV shows, according to the
person.
The hack comes at a tough
time for Sony, following soon after a denial-of-service attack on
Sony's PlayStation Network in August. Sony was also victim of a
notorious 2011 breach that compromised data of tens of millions of
PlayStation Network users.
It also
comes just as the company's CEO Kazuo Hirai is trying to grow the
entertainment business to help offset losses in its mobile division.
He
has been under pressure to prove the segment's growth potential after
rejecting a proposal by U.S. hedge fund Third Point to spin it off last
year.
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION
People
claiming responsibility for this latest attack have posted high-quality
digital copies of yet-to-be-released Sony films and what they claim are
sensitive data about its operations and employees on Internet download
sites, making them freely available to the public in a series of
releases over the past five days.
Sony's
holiday musical "Annie", which is due to be released Dec. 19 in the
United States, was available for download on a popular piracy site on
Tuesday evening.
Daniel Clemens,
chief executive of cyber security firm PacketNinjas, said he has
reviewed the files released to date and believes they were stolen from
Sony.
He said he found business contracts as well as Social Security numbers, salary information and medical data about employees.
"This is a horrible compromise," Clemens said.
The
U.S. national security official, who asked to remain anonymous, told
Reuters on Tuesday that the forensic investigation is in its early
stages, and that no clear suspects have emerged.
The
technology news site Re/code reported Nov. 28 that Sony was
investigating whether hackers working on behalf of the North Korean
government were responsible for the attack as retribution for the
company's backing of the film "The Interview."
The
comedy, which is due to be released in the United States and Canada on
Dec. 25, is about a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un. Pyongyang denounced the film as "an act of war" in a letter to U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June.
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