U.S. Loses First Cyberwar

[Reub]

Wasn't it cute when N. Korea initially hacked into Sony's computers and released tidbits about Angelina Jolie, et al? Juicy emails from gay and liberal Sony executives displaying their racial biases? But then the shadowy group that we know was working for N Korea threatened a 9/11 style attack if the anti Kim Jong Un movie was brought to theatres and what did the freedom loving movie industry do? They pulled the film and ran for the hills. A cyberwar win for the bad guys. A blow for freedom of speech. A precedent?

[Tortoise]

North Korea effectively censored a major American movie studio.

This is a very, very bad precedent.

[dualstow]

I've been fascinated by this story since it broke. (See my current sig). It's much better than the film ever could have been. Did the North Koreans not have any hacking prowess when Team America: World Police came out, by the way?

I think we've got two things going on here: a cyber attack and a threat of physical violence, i.e. a conventional terrorist attack. While Sony Corp did fall victim to a cyberattack, I don't know if it's fair to say the U.S. lost its first cyberwar. That war is still raging. Of course it was the threat of a physical attack that led to the cancellation of screenings of the film.

I definitely agree with Tortoise that this sets a very bad precedent. Once upon a time it was just Salman Rushdie watching tv in self-exile. Now it's effectively censorship by foreign governments. 

Can't even get this film on a torrent site!

[clacy]

US definitely needs to be proactive on this garbage.  We really do not need a two-bit dictator dictating to us.

[goodasgold]

Why doesn't Sony just upload the movie to the Internet? This would flummox the Norks and gain a huge viewing audience.

[dualstow]

Why doesn't Sony just upload the movie to the Internet? This would flummox the Norks and gain a hug viewing audience.

It's going to have to be leaked. Sony won't make any money from this film, the way things are looking. On the radio, though, they're talking about releasing it online worldwide for free and asking for a $5 donation to fight ebola. Sony's not talking about it, but people are talking about it.

Maybe it'll be released ten years from now, and everyone will be terribly disappointed with the actual film. 

[MachineGhost]

I'm surprised theres not a topic about the cyberwar attack against Sony over the Rogen and Franco comedy, The Interview.  Sony has pulled it and many, if not all, theatres in the U.S. are refusing to show it due to "threats of violence" (from whom???).

I mean come on, its a comedy!  What does all but disabling Sony prove exactly?

North Korea can go frack itself.




merged with earlier thread on same topic 

[Reub]

Why doesn't Sony just upload the movie to the Internet? This would flummox the Norks and gain a huge viewing audience.

Unit 121 knows where they live.

[dualstow]

May I suggest everyone add North Korea to their IP blocklist software?

https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=kr

I think that's South Korea.

You want kp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.kp

They should just unplug North Korea from the Internet...and stuff. 

[MachineGhost]

May I suggest everyone add North Korea to their IP blocklist software?

https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=kr

I think that's South Korea.

You want kp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.kp

They should just unplug North Korea from the Internet...and stuff. 

Good catch!  I always confuse Republic and Democratic.  Note to self: "Republics are democratic and Democratics are totalitarian."

[dualstow]

Note to self: "Republics are democratic and Democratics are totalitarian."

LoL, Right! I got tripped up on this some years ago when someone referred to Taiwan as "The Republic of China", even though I was used to writing Taiwan R.O.C. on envelopes.  Want the totalitarian state? Just add the prefix "People's".  Works for a few nations.

[Reub]

The co-chairman of Sony Pictures Amy Pascal is now seeking absolution from Al Sharpton for her insensitive racial emails about the Prez. I know that I shouldn't be chuckling but I can't help it. The most influential black man outside of his own friend Barry said: "The jury is still out on where we go."

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/ar ... -82330701/

[WiseOne]

It's amazing what the presence of a nuke bomb will do.  If North Korea didn't hold that trump card,  the response from the U.S. govt might be different.  (Actually...what IS the response??  Poor Sony was pretty much on its own.)

It's not clear what the government can do though, outside of stepping up sanctions which is probably all that they'll do.  Provoking North Korea into a war is probably not worth the risk.

[Reub]

China is the key.

[MachineGhost]

It's not clear what the government can do though, outside of stepping up sanctions which is probably all that they'll do.  Provoking North Korea into a war is probably not worth the risk.

And the real concern is that the nomenklatura will use the nuke on their own citizens.  That's how batshit crazy they are over there!

[MachineGhost]

Looks like Reub is right:

Apparently emboldened by Sony’s capitulation, the attackers are now making even more demands. According to CNN, Sony executives on Thursday received an email apparently from the attackers said they would no longer release additional stolen Sony Pictures data unless the company announced that it would also cancel any plans to release the movie on DVD, Netflix or elsewhere. The attackers also reportedly demanded that any teasers and trailers about The Interview online be removed from the Internet.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/19/media/i ... ?hpt=hp_t1
 
Sigh.  It's one thing for the Japanese to give in and save face, but are we going to stand for this B.S.?!!

Worse, Japan is clearly harboring around a dozen of the cyberterrorists:

The Liaison Department of the Worker’s Party oversees a faction of ethnic North Koreans residing in Japan who are critical to North Korea’s cyber and intelligence programs. This group, which was established in 1955, is referred to by various names including the Chosen Soren, Chongryon, and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. 136  The Chongryon ascribe to juche and seek to preserve North Korean culture while living in Japan. They operate North Korean style schools and refuse to assimilate with Japanese culture. 137  According to Mitsuhiro Suganuma, former section head of the second intelligence department of the Japanese Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA),  “Chongryon is virtually under the direct control of the Liaison Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which has been in charge of North Korea’s covert operations and underground activities against South Korea. Chongryon in Japan has been a strong support organization aimed at bringing a revolution in South Korea, or a red unification by force.”? He also stated “North Korea will continue to make Chongryon serve as Pyongyang’s pawn in covert operations against South Korea.”? 138  The Chongryon are vital to North Korea’s military budget, raising funds via weapons trafficking, drug trafficking, and other black market activities. 139  The group also forms “front companies”? abroad that benefit the regime by generating hard currency.

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/hpeb/attachme ... hKorea.pdf

[MachineGhost]

May I suggest everyone add North Korea to their IP blocklist software?

https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=kr

I think that's South Korea.

You want kp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.kp

They should just unplug North Korea from the Internet...and stuff. 

Good catch!  I always confuse Republic and Democratic.  Note to self: "Republics are democratic and Democratics are totalitarian."

BTW, I opted to block Iran and Syria instead.  Here are the ranges to create a manual North Korean blocklist:

31.220.29.128 - 31.220.29.159
46.36.203.81 - 46.36.203.83
57.73.224.0 - 57.73.255.255
175.45.176.0 - 175.45.179.255
185.56.163.144 - 185.56.163.159
210.52.109.0 - 210.52.109.255

EDIT: And Ukraine (to go along with Russia and China which are already blocked).  It's really stupid why more routers don't have this blocking feature built-in.

[Reub]

N. Korea had a widespread Internet outage today so maybe we didn't  lose the first cyber war after all.

[Pointedstick]

I thought it was funny how Kim Jong Un first denied responsibility, then threatened more. The political response to this has been pretty pathetic. Letting two-bit dictators bully companies' U.S. operations can't be allowed to continue.

[MachineGhost]

I thought it was funny how Kim Jong Un first denied responsibility, then threatened more. The political response to this has been pretty pathetic. Letting two-bit dictators bully companies' U.S. operations can't be allowed to continue.

Someone remind me why we can't invade and "regime change" North Korea?  Iraq was a gorilla in comparison.

[Mark Leavy]

Someone remind me why we can't invade and "regime change" North Korea?  Iraq was a gorilla in comparison.

North Korea has some crappy nukes that just might work.  And some crappy rockets that just might reach Seoul.
There is some concern that being blamed for the loss of millions of civilian lives might not be a good thing.

[dualstow]

Letting two-bit dictators bully companies' U.S. operations can't be allowed to continue.

They should be 8-bit dictators, minimum, if they're going to hack us.

[MachineGhost]

I would have used an 8" floppy...

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[dualstow]

Has anyone everyone read the Bruce Schneier piece? Good stuff here.
http://bit.ly/1Bgxhb9 // https://www.schneier.com/essays/archive ... _real.html

Did North Korea Really Attack Sony?
It's too early to take the U.S. government at its word.
Bruce Schneier
The Atlantic
December 22, 2014

...
Allan Friedman, a research scientist at George Washington University's Cyber Security Policy Research Institute, told me that from a diplomatic perspective, it's a smart strategy for the U.S. to be overconfident in assigning blame for the cyberattacks. Beyond the politics of this particular attack, the long-term U.S. interest is to discourage other nations from engaging in similar behavior. If the North Korean government continues denying its involvement no matter what the truth is, and the real attackers have gone underground, then the U.S. decision to claim omnipotent powers of attribution serves as a warning to others that they will get caught if they try something like this.
...

[Mountaineer]

I'm trying to determine which snarky reply to go with:

A. You really expect me to believe that the U.S. government would blame another country they don't like for some heinous act?  What could possibly be the U.S.'s motivation?

B. The U.S. government doesn't make up stories about other countries.  Period.

C. A *real* president would have already bombed North Korea for this transgression, thus proving their guilt.

D. It's not a lie if *you* believe it.

My vote is a combo of B and D. 

...Mountaineer