The National Security Agency apparently knows with absolute certainty that North Korea was behind the recent Sony Pictures hacking, it has now emerged. This was revealed a few days ago by reports online which also alleged that the NSA knows that because it hacked North Korea first, many years ago and installed backdoors in their systems.
The accusations made by among others President Barack Obama when he addressed the issue were a first in American history, according to the New York Times that America had made such a direct accusation to another nation. The other people who spoke on the issue include Sony and a host of security chiefs in the US also said in no uncertain terms that North Korea was responsible for the hack.
The confidence to say that North Korea launched the attack came from the fact that the US had a backdoor in the North Korea cyber installation. This means that America knew that North Korea launched the attack, even when other groups online attempted to take responsibility of the hack.
The question then arises “Why did the US not warn Sony that they were being targeted by a North Korea attack?” Well, the way that the attack was set up made it hard for anyone watching the North Korean internet activities to know that an attack was underway. The attack was anchored on a simple process of sending emails then waiting for the receiver to reply and in the process give up his or her passwords and authentication codes. The emails therefore looked ordinary to the US.
However, the backdoors have helped the US in the forensic investigations to conclude that the attack was indeed launched from North Korea. In fact, FBI Director James Comey said, “We could see that the IP addresses that were being used to post and to send the emails were coming from IPs that were exclusively used by the North Koreans.” The North Koreans therefore did not make effort to hide the fact that they indeed were the ones who attacked Sony Pictures.
The problems between Sony Pictures Entertainment and the North Korea government started when it was announced that it was going to release its hugely anticipated film ‘The Interview’ which is loosely based on the North Korean leader. The North Koreans were not amused with the unflattering story line and decided to hurt Sony in a bid to stop the showing of the film.
In the wake of the revelation, North Korea is expected to try and find the US backdoors in its systems. Meanwhile, the fact that a simple hack could affect American business interests that seriously has brought the internet security debate to the front porches of big businesses. The reality of a cyber war is fast becoming apparent. At this rate, it is quite clear than businesses will need to keep a keen eye on their internet infrastructure.
That said, the NSA refuses to comment on the issue.
Top/Featured Image: Mark Fahey / Wikipedia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Headquarters_of_Workers%27_Party_of_Korea_02.jpg)
Back doors have been around for more than a decade. It is no secret that back doors have been installed in silicon in routers and servers without going into the details of why and by whom. I will sight one major problem that has been just one source of this global problem . The supply chains of most OEMs are not secure with any process that will guarantee what you ordered is indeed precisely what you ordered and nothing more. In fact I participated in a conference a couple of years ago designated as the US Resiliency Project that discussed this problem at length.
For example many supply chain do not practice digital signatures on hardware designs so it is difficult If not impossible to verify the design and tie it to only the people that in fact wrote the design . In order to secure the supply chains around the globe a digital signature and verification process must be in place. Unfortunately because of sub contractors that are used outside the bounds of such a process it is easy for someone to add something that was not authorized or ordered by the OEM .
This is the tip of the iceberg!
Lies!
BIG QUESTION: If the US had backdoors in NorKor’s networks, why did they not prevent them from hacking Sony?
THE TRUTH: The U.S. govt is using satellites to eavesdrop on conversations within the top ranked officials in NorKor. This is much more easier to do. If the NSA is “absolutely certain” that North Korea hacked Sony then this is the only way they would have definite proof. IP spoofing is so easy to do, that literally a child could do it.
Think of it this way: If you can see your neighbor’s backyard using Google Maps, what makes you think the U.S. Military could not see what you are doing outside in higher resolution and in REAL TIME? And everyone knows by now that you can eavesdrop into peoples homes using microwaves – with no bugs installed. The U.S. has that capability whereby ANY conversation can be eavesdropped on from the skies above. The NSA is eavesdropping on the North Korean government – plain and simple. This is the only way they can come out and say with “ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY” that NorKor was responsible for the Sony hack. The technology that the U.S. Military is so advanced, it would blow your mind.