North Korea Not Responsible For Sony Hacks, Experts Believe

Some experts express doubt that North Korea is the culprit behind the Sony hacks. While it’s no secret that Kim Jong-Un and his government despise ‘The Interview,’ the dictator has denied involvement in the scandal. While most Americans believe otherwise, several analysts now suspect that Jong-Un may actually be telling the truth.

According to Sam Glines, a company representative for the cybersecurity company Norse, the FBI simply has not presented sufficient forensic evidence to pin North Korea as the perpetrator.

According to the FBI, the hacker group calling itself “Guardians of Peace” (GoP), used a form of malware similar to that used by North Korea in several of their own cyber-attacks. Experts, though, say that the code for the malware was leaked a while back and could have been acquired by just about any hacker.

IT security researcher Scott Borg also chimed in and says the he doesn’t believe North Korea carried out the Sony hacks for the simple reason that the country does not have the equipment and skill level necessary to carry out such a complex attack.

Of course, this dilemma presents a whole other question: If North Korea isn’t responsible, then who is?

Mega corporations like Sony Pictures will surly have their share of rivals and enemies. Several IT security personnel have been laid off by the company over the years, so it wouldn’t be a far-fetched theory to speculate that a disgruntled ex-employee might be behind it.

Another suspect is the hacker group Lizard Squad, which claimed responsibility for the recent attack on Playstation’s online network. The group has even made threats of bodily harm after one of its members sent a tweet claiming that a bomb has been planted in a plane carrying Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley. Takeoff was immediately cancelled.

This also isn’t the first time Sony has been under attack. Back in October 2012, a group identifying itself as The Three Musketeers leaked a security key that allowed gamers to run pirated games on the PS3 console. Earlier in April of 2011, the entire PS Network was shut down after a hacker breeched the site’s security and stole the private data of 77 million users.

Is North Korea behind the Sony hack? The FBI still thinks so, but with the extensive list of possible other suspects, it’s one of those cases that may never be solved.

[photo credit: prachatai]

North Korea Not Responsible For Sony Hacks, Experts Believe