Sony blackmailed by hackers

Hackers have attacked US TV and movie giant Sony Pictures Entertainment, hijacking its Twitter accounts, closing IT systems and possibly stealing confidential passwords and documents.

Reports claimed that the hacking group, calling themselves ‘Guardians of Peace’, posted a skeleton picture on every Sony employee’s screens. They also  threatened to leak the firm’s most confidential data if the multinational company refused to comply with demands.

The extent of the damage is still unclear. A post on Reddit, by an alleged former Sony Pictures employee, that initially broke the news indicates that the leak could include Excel, PDF, and Word-based financial data, production schedules, passwords, private keys, and emails. It also supposedly includes a document detailing the steps to take in response to a cyber security issue. The Reddit post claimed that the entire company has been subject to the breach.

The hackers stated in a message:

“Hacked By #GOP. We’ve already wasned [sic] you, and this is just a beginning. We continue till our request be met. We’ve obtained all your Internal data, Including your secrets and top secrets. If you don’t obey us, we’ll release data shown below to the world. Determine what will you do till November the 24th, 11:00 PM (GMT).”

Sony is in an undesirable position and the breach proves that any business, at any stage, can find itself in such a situation. However, hackers of that much ability don’t typically target smaller firms. The best thing businesses can do is to open up cyber security jobs and improve their level of defence, in order to protect their own confidential data and systems.