North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investigation With U.S.

Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by cyorir on Saturday December 20, 2014 @11:48AM (#8777085)

Would North Korea even have an interest in attacking a company like Sony Pictures in this way? Normally, when a nation-state goes for a cyber attack, they go after useful targets. For example, they go after a government to get an upper hand in negotiations, or maybe they go after industry or academia, to secure knowledge about some helpful technology. Sony pictures would not be a canonical target for a nation-state, because they really don't have much to offer a state like North Korea (it's not like this attack will help the struggling North Korea film industry). In contrast, there would be more for North Korea to lose if the US retaliates.

I can't quite understand the allegation that NK is behind this because I don't see a motive.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by brown9-2 on Saturday December 20, 2014 @12:02PM (#8777122)

Is it too hard to imagine that a member of the Kim court could have purchased or ordered the services of hackers to curry favor with the leadership? You might be looking for rationality and logic in the actions of a cult of personality.

This is after all a country that in the past has kidnapped Japanese citizens for purposes including producing movies for the NK film industry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_abductions_of_Japa...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Sang-ok

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by TheOtherHobbes on Saturday December 20, 2014 @02:57PM (#8777716)

It's not impossible. But it is a stretch.

How would a member of Kim Court know where to find hackers?

I'm not sure what percentage of people here know where to find those kinds of hackers, and we're supposed to be IT experts.

So the idea that some underling in the world's one surviving Stalinist state, which happens to have barely any Internet, knows where to hang out on DarkNet, and also has a suitably impressive stash of BitCoins, and knows enough about corporate politics to understand how to cause Sony Pix maximum humiliation - all that sounds just slightly unlikely, no?

China? Maybe. Russia? Possibly. 4Chan and/or LulzSec? Uh huh.

But North Korea? Possibly not.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by crdoconnor on Saturday December 20, 2014 @01:05PM (#8777319)

>I can't quite understand the allegation that NK is behind this because I don't see a motive.

The motive is that a company that straddles the two countries that North Korea hates the most created a movie obviously designed to be a gross insult to their leader.

I'm sure there could be ancillary benefits to the hack too - technology they could copy, etc.

The motive is definitely there, but all the evidence still points to a disgruntled ex-employee.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by endou on Saturday December 20, 2014 @03:21PM (#8777787)

> technology they could copy

Like DRMs?

Jokes aside, I have no idea what's going on with this whole story.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by csandreasen on Saturday December 20, 2014 @04:18PM (#8777966)

Apparently the movie personally pissed off Kim Jong Un. Back in June they officially condemned the movie and threatened retaliation if it was released.

http://time.com/2921071/kim-jong-un-seth-rogen-the-interview...

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by Mobiu5 on Saturday December 20, 2014 @11:54AM (#8777098)

I don't think NK did it, but a nation-state, just like any other entity driven by self-interest, would go after ANYTHING they felt would give them an advantage. Including actions they can use to sway public opinion in their favor (or against the favor of their enemies) or garner sympathy for themselves.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by a3n on Saturday December 20, 2014 @11:59AM (#8777112)

I don't know or suspect whether NK did it or not. But from what I've read about NK, it's risky to use logic to second guess their motives. If NK was a human, I'd say they're batshit nuts. Clinically speaking.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by crdoconnor on Saturday December 20, 2014 @12:44PM (#8777242)

A lot of the crazy stories about North Korea are made up.

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Re:North Korea, Denying Sony Attack, Proposes Joint Investig... by a3n on Saturday December 20, 2014 @03:54PM (#8777903)

No doubt. And some of the stories are probably true.

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