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Cybercrime
Sony Hacks
The attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment happened in December 2014 following the
release of a controversial film regarding the leadership of North Korea. Before the attack,
Sony planned to release a film ‘The Interview,’ which portrayed the assassination of a North
Korean supreme leader. The target ridicule of the film was Kim Jong-il and his son Kim
Jong-un, the North Korean leader. In the trailer released in October before the film's release,
the central intelligence agency (CIA) hires two Americans to travel to North Korea and
assassinate King Jong-un. The trailer mocked the North Korean leadership, which caused
their strong opposition to the release of that film in the United States. Besides, North Koreans
viewed the film as an act of war masterminded by the United States government. However,
Sony pushed forward to releasing the film despite the oppositions from the North Korean
government.
The movie was to be released on 25th December. Before the release, Sony was
attacked, and huge volumes of data were stolen from their servers. The cyberattack was
facilitated by a hacking group known as the Guardians of Peace (GOP), which is believed to
be hired by the North Koran government. The press claimed that Sony’s cyberattack occurred
due to lack of security or physical vulnerabilities in their servers. Besides, in the wake of the
attack, a team from an intelligence firm claimed to have walked directly into Sony’s security
office, which contained unlocked computers with access to their private network information
(Horton and DeSimone, 2018). Unlocking their security offices is an indication that the
company did not take proactive measures in securing its servers from unauthorized access.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the attack was an organized crime.
The hackers first breached the network in September. The hackers used phishing to access the

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