Not specifically naming any names, the FBI has warned that a major cyberattack has taken place against US businesses in the last two weeks. The advisory, likely given in the wake of the enormous Sony breach, gives some details about the tools used in the assault, and provides advice to the businesses on how to respond to the package, which includes informing the FBI.
The original hack, undertaken by the “Guardians of Peace,” was compiled in the Korean language. Recent reports claim that the North Korean state itself is responsible for the breach, but why the country would release a DVD-quality screener of the title (which has earned the stars death threats) to various movie piracy sites is unknown. Also released by the group are documents detailing more than 6,000 Sony Pictures employees. More data is promised to be released, if the group’s ransom isn’t paid.
The report “correlates with information about that many of us in the security industry have been tracking,” said one of the people who reviewed the document for Reuters. “It looks exactly like information from the Sony attack.”
A number of Sony movies have been leaked following the Sony Pictures hack last week. At least five movies are circulating on file-sharing sites, and while unreleased films including Mr. Turner and Annie are being pirated before a theatrical release, the recent Brad Pitt helmed Fury is also receiving a considerable amount of downloads, likely to it still being shown in cinemas.
FBI spokesperson Joshua Campbell said of the advisory that “the FBI routinely advises private industry of various cyber threat indicators observed during the course of our investigations. This data is provided in order to help systems administrators guard against the actions of persistent cyber criminals.”
