Questions are still being raised about the FBI’s conclusion that North Korea was responsible for the Sony hack attack that triggered the initial cancellation of the movie studio’s comedy The Interview.
Many industry experts are now speculating that the cyber attack was much likelier carried out by an insider – a former or current disgruntled employee within Sony – and one team of experts is pointing the finger at Russian hackers.
Seattle-based cyber security firm Taia Global used a unique method for coming to the conclusion that the “Guardians of Peace” individual/group that claimed responsibility for the attack might stem from Russia. The company conducted an in-depth analysis of linguistic patterns contained in the leaked emails pertaining to the hack. The process involved examination of the 1,600 words attached to Sony emails that were leaked to the public.
Analysts said they utilized crucial phrases in the emails like “our agents find themselves act in necessary places” and “is called by the greed of Sony.” They then compared them to four major languages to deduce the writer’s native language.
They concluded that 15 out of 20 phrases used in the emails matched Russian, while nine matched Korean and none matched Mandarin Chinese.
While the method and findings are intriguing and could explain Russian attribution, it could also be a case of the hackers using a certain type of language to throw off investigators of the leaks.
Despite all latest evidence and other theories flying around, the FBI and President Barack Obama are so far standing by their earlier assertion blaming North Korea outright for the attack.
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