![\"security-265130_640\"](\"https:\/\/sitesdev.net\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/security-265130_640.jpg\")
More details are now emerging on the heels of the Sony hack, including ongoing leaks of the information gained from Sony\u2019s servers.\u00a0 What we\u2019re discovering is interesting, though as we get a more complete picture, things aren\u2019t exactly as Sony initially had us believe.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what we know so far.<\/p>\n
The North Korea Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n When the attack was first made public, Sony indicated that they believed the North Koreans to be behind the attack.\u00a0 It is true that North Korea has spoken out in support of the hackers who did the attack.\u00a0 They clearly approve of the action, but so far, it has not been proved that they were behind it.\u00a0 The group currently claiming responsibility is called the \u201cGuardians of Peace\u201d (GOP).\u00a0 It may yet come to light that this group was funded by North Korea to make the attack possible, but at this stage, we just don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Unprecedented Scale<\/strong><\/p>\n Sony Execs were quick to paint this attack in terms that made it seem completely unavoidable.\u00a0 Sony against a powerful, rogue enemy nation with virtually limitless resources to plan, create, and then execute a malicious attack against them, and to a degree, they are correct.\u00a0 Even if we don\u2019t know who was behind it, the sheer size and scope of the breach, and the amount of data that was taken makes it a landmark hacking case for certain.<\/p>\n The question, however, is was it unavoidable?\u00a0 Sony paints themselves as having a sterling security system in place.\u00a0 State of the art, and top of the line.\u00a0 Their argument is that even that was insufficient to stop the determined hackers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to understand why they would take this line.\u00a0 After all, they\u2019ve got to paint themselves as having done everything possible to prevent it, in order to mollify their investors so no one gets skittish, but as security analysts from companies like FireEye delve more deeply into the incursion, they\u2019re finding several notable, glaring flaws in Sony\u2019s security procedures that make the attack much more avoidable than Sony first indicated.<\/p>\n Here, two things stand out.\u00a0 First, many of their employees kept (and were, in fact, encouraged to keep) their passwords stored in simple, unprotected Word documents.\u00a0 That\u2019s not only a security faux pas, but it\u2019s also a stunningly bad practice that can easily open a company up to a serious, significant breach.\u00a0 Second, and even more damaging to the Sony narrative, however, is the fact that so much data was moved off of their servers.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t get that much data quickly, which means that the hackers not only quietly infiltrated Sony\u2019s core systems, but they remained inside them for an extended period.\u00a0 The whole time they were there, they were dumping massive amounts of data to points outside Sony\u2019s network.\u00a0 You could sell system security people on the idea that the hackers were able to gain access to your network undetected.\u00a0 You could even sell them on the idea that they were able to freely roam your network undetected, but when you start talking about moving that kind of data offsite without anybody noticing, there\u2019s a problem.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not possible to move that much data without leaving a trace, and that means that somebody at Sony was asleep at the switch and missed it.<\/p>\n