FBI Says No Clues Against N Korea Yet in Sony Security Breach Probe

MOSCOW, December 9 (Sputnik) – The FBI said they have not yet obtained any decisive proof that North Korea is responsible for the recent cyber-attacks on Sony Pictures which happened in late November, where a record amount of confidential data was leaked.The major data theft has not yet been fully attributed to North Korea, the agency’s cyber division assistant director Joe Demarest told the public Tuesday morning during a panel discussion, organized by Bloomberg.

"There is no attribution to North Korea at this point," Demarest said as reported by Reuters. He went on to say that there is still no indication of any government’s involvement as well.

Previously, some non-affiliated cybersecurity researchers suggested North Korea might have carried out the attack against Sony as the malware used to hack Sony’s security systems hinted at Pyongyang’s involvement. People close to several separate investigations, undertaken by Sony and the federal government in Washington, also said that North Korea is likely to be responsible for the leak. However, Pyongyang has repeatedly denied it played any role in the attack.

The FBI also said it will continue its search for the persons or entities responsible for the attack. The agency will also contribute to strengthening security in Sony’s internal network.

"As part of our commitment to helping private industry protect against the threat posed by malicious cyber criminals, the FBI routinely provides briefings on cyber security awareness," FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell said as quoted by Reuters.

The first theft of the confidential data from Sony occurred three weeks ago, in mid-November. An anonymous group of hackers called Guardians of Peace (GOP) announced its responsibility for breaching into Sony’s network. GOP made the public aware of their activities on November 24, however, Sony Pictures reported of the leaks on November 21. Since then, GOP has published tens of thousands of records of the previously concealed data, including movie scripts, project proposals and internal communications. The hackers have also released private information on 47,000 employees of Sony Pictures.

North Korea, albeit denying its involvement, said in early December that this attack “might be a righteous deed”, as reported by Bloomberg.

“By definition, a hacktivist group has a history, they’ve been out defacing websites, doing stuff,” John Hultquist of the Dallas-based iSight Partners Inc. told Bloomberg. “Given the lack of a background behind the hacktivist organization claiming responsibility, I think we’re looking at North Korea sponsoring it or someone sympathetic to North Korea sponsoring it.”

The allegations of North Korea’s involvement gained further traction on December 9 after GOP demanded Sony stop showing ‘The Interview’, a comedy film about a conspiracy to kill  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the war,” GOP said as reported by Bloomberg. “You, Sony & FBI, cannot find us.”

The hackers are threatening to disclose more personal data on the studio’s employees, including those of Amy Pascal, head of Sony Pictures’ film business, and Steve Mosko, in charge of the television  branch.