Hackers Who Took Down Sony Now After A News Organization

The hacker group which claimed responsibility for the Sony cyberattack calls itself Guardians of Peace, and it appears the group isn’t quite done yet with companies on U.S. soil. According to an FBI bulletin the hackers have now threatened to attack an American news organization. A Joint Intelligence Bulletin of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security states that threats of similar attacks “may extend to such organizations in the near future.”

The Sony hack was devastating to say the least. Sony Pictures Entertainment got tons of bad press. Unreleased movies, personal data of employees, emails from top executives and more were leaked online in bid to halt the release of Sony’s controversial movie “The Interview.” The release went ahead online and managed to bring in $15 million through online distribution.

Memos don’t mention the American news organization by name, but The Desk dug around and found copies of Pastebin messages that were posted earlier this month but have now been removed. One message mentioned CNN, mocking it for the “investigation” of the Sony hack, and linking to a YouTube video titled “you are an idiot!”

Whether or not this threat is legitimate remains to be seen. FBI and DHS memo states that hackers do tend to make “exaggerated threat statements,” like they warned of 9/11 style attacks against people who went to see The Interview in cinemas, but both advise law enforcement and cyber counterterrorism departments to be on top of their game.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: cyberattacks, Hacking, Sony Pictures