Even though many fingers were unofficially pointing to North Korea, as the origin of the massive Sony Pictures hack operation, the country denied at least at couple of times any involvement, but praised the hackers behind the devastating cyber attack. Furthermore, Reuters reports that the FBI has also issued an official comment on the matter, saying that North Korea is not behind the attack, according to information available at this time. The publication also revealed that the hack may end up costing the company as much as $100 million.
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“There is no attribution to North Korea at this point,” FBI assistant director Joe Demarest said at a cybersecurity conference. He also said that has been no confirmation of government involvement to date, without sharing more details about the investigation.
Some technical indicators found by cybersecurity researchers apparently suggest that North Korean hackers launched the attack, making the country a principal suspect.
In a different report, Reuters has also revealed that Sony Pictures might have to face costs amounting to as much as $100 million following the massive data breach — the costs include investigation fees, computer repair and replacements, new defense investments, and potential losses related to day-to-day operations.
Furthermore, Sony hackers also released movies online that are yet to hit cinemas, with Macquarie Research analysts projecting an impairment charge for the company of around $83 million related to the incident.
The attack also hits Sony’s reputation, when it comes to safeguarding the personal data of employees and business partners, not to mention that competitors also have access to the massive amount of data that has been released online after the breach.
