Peter A Clarke

The major data breach of Sony Pictures is resulting in a familiar wave of consequential loss and damage; cost of repair, reputational damage and loss leading response to mitigate damage.  In Sony hires Mandiant to clean up after cyber attack the story focuses on the very expensive and embarrassing task of having outside security experts having to work through the cyber wreckage left by hackers.  The cost of the hack for Sony has been the leaking of valuable IP, in the form of yet to be released films as reported in  Upcoming Sony Pictures films leak online in wake of hack.  All of this highlights the critical importance of maintaining adequate data security and response strategies in the event of a breach.

The actual breach is well covered in Sony Pictures hacked, entire computer system reportedly unusable. The article provides:

Reports that Sony Pictures has been hacked have been trickling in this morning, after a thread appeared on Reddit claiming all computers at the company were offline due to a hack.

According to the Reddit thread, an image appeared on all employee’s computers reading “Hacked by #GOP” and demanding their “requests be met” along with links to leaked data.

The Reddit user that posted the thread posted a year ago that they worked at Sony Pictures.

The ZIP files mentioned in the images contain a list of filenames of a number of documents pertaining to financial records along with private keys for access to servers. The message shown on computers mentions “demands” that must be met by November 24th at 11:00PM GMT or the files named will be released.

A source within Sony has anonymously confirmed to TNW that the hack and image that have appeared on computers inside Sony Pictures is real. They said that “a single server was compromised and the attack was spread from there.”

According to our source, everyone was going home following the hack: “We’re all going to work from home. Can’t even get on the internet.”

Variety reports that Sony employees have been warned not to connect to the company’s corporate network or to check email. They also added that “Sony’s information-technology departments have instructed employees to turn off their computers as well as disable Wi-Fi on all mobile devices”

Sony Pictures is the American company that manages distribution of the company’s film and TV productions.

We’ve contacted Sony’s press line for comment but haven’t heard back yet, however in a statement to Deadline, the company said “We are investigating an IT matter.”