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posted by janrinok on Wednesday December 03 2014, @04:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the there-is-no-bad-publicity dept.

The NYT reports that in the aftermath of the crippling online attack against Sony last month, internal documents have been leaked containing the pre-bonus annual salaries of Sony's senior executives. A spreadsheet containing the salaries of more than 6,000 Sony Pictures employees has been posted on Pastebin, the anonymous Internet posting site, that includes the company’s top executives including 17 senior executives who earn more than $1 million a year sending "a ripple of dread across Hollywood to Washington". Tom Kellermann says that unlike stealth attacks from China and Russia, Sony’s hackers not only aimed to steal data, but also to send a clear message. “This was like a home invasion where after taking the family jewels the hackers set the house ablaze."

Although large attacks on companies are increasingly common, this one has played out like one of Sony’s own thrillers, with macabre images on computer screens of studio executives’ severed heads. Although the studio is exploring multiple explanations, one theory involves North Korea and that the attack could be retribution from North Korea for a coming Sony comedy about an assassination attempt on that country’s leader, Kim Jong-un. Sony plans to release “The Interview,” an R-rated comedy about two American journalists who are recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to kill Mr. Kim. A spokesman for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the film — apparently after seeing a trailer — “the most undisguised terrorism and a war action" adding that the film would invite “a strong and merciless countermeasure.” The destructive attack at Sony mirrors similar attacks last year on computers inside South Korea that paralyzed the computer networks at three major South Korean banks and two of the country’s largest broadcasters. Those attacks were traced back to computer addresses inside China, though many suspected that hackers inside China were working on behalf of North Korea, retaliating against South Korea for conducting military exercises with the United States, and for supporting recent American-led sanctions against the north. “In 2015 hackers will destroy systems not just for activism, but also for counter-incident response,” concludes Kellermann. Sony is moving ahead with the release of the comedy regardless.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:00PM

    by nitehawk214 (1304) on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:00PM (#122321)

    Publishing someone's salary is like stealing their valuables and destroying their house?

    Fuck you, Sony, fuck you.

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    "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
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  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:12PM

    by Bot (3902) on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:12PM (#122328) Journal

    They are trolling.
    Sony is exaggerating the problem so that control of network activity is justified (a big plus for any corporation) and, bonus, so that the public knows they have a new release in the works.

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    Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 04 2014, @01:58AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 04 2014, @01:58AM (#122443)

      Sony is exaggerating the problem so that control of network activity is justified

      That's not logical. They don't seem to even control their own network.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 04 2014, @06:28AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 04 2014, @06:28AM (#122476)

        Since when are corporations ever logical?

  • (Score: 1) by arulatas on Wednesday December 03 2014, @08:28PM

    by arulatas (3600) on Wednesday December 03 2014, @08:28PM (#122384)

    "You wouldn't steal a car." - I think they have always had a problem with hyperbole.

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    • (Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Thursday December 04 2014, @04:35PM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Thursday December 04 2014, @04:35PM (#122600)

      But I would certainly download one if I could.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
      • (Score: 1) by arulatas on Thursday December 04 2014, @06:11PM

        by arulatas (3600) on Thursday December 04 2014, @06:11PM (#122640)

        I was actually commenting about how they like to confuse people with their rhetoric at every opportunity. Sorry you missed my intent.

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