> "The hackers have released at least nine batches of data and promised a larger quantity on Christmas."
That's why it doesn't make sense as North Korea. Their accepted motive goes as far as THE INTERVIEW, which was dodgy-enough to begin with, but which has already been shelved. Why would North Korea be threatening to release more information if their goals were already met?
Ignoring the rhetoric, the actions here looks much more like garden-variety data-ransom. If "their demands" were "x-million USD, don't contact the feds", then everything makes sense. Wiping the data. Only mentioning THE INTERVIEW after the press seized on it (misdirection and increased pressure on Sony). Actively promoting the tastiest bits of leaked data to the press. Releasing more as further deadlines pass without some unnamed capitulation (that's larger/different than simply shelving THE INTERVIEW). Having The Big Bad Deadline for a large future release.
That the US Government is publicly on-board with the DPRK theory also doesn't fit an actual "hack by North Korea" situation. The US Government gains nothing by naming perps, which is why they almost never do it, not even after the consensus opinion of third-party researchers makes an inescapable conclusion. If the perpetrators actually were North Korea, the US government would stand to lose more than most times, as we're currently trying to lure the DPRK back to the six-party talks. (A subject much larger than Sony Entertainment.)
That attribution would make perfect sense if the government is coordinating with Sony, but has to try to convince the hackers they aren't involved/competent/two-hops-away, etc. Given how cozy the US press is with the US government, I wouldn't be surprised if they were knowingly pushing the "it's totally North Korea" angle in the service of the investigation.
(As an aside, if anyone wants to make a friendly wager, I'd bet up 3 BTC on the fact that this is indeed a NK attack, so long as we can agree on some sort of reasonable time period and way to confirm, such as an arrest or confession. Either payment to the winner, or payment to the winner's designated charity. Is there a site that allows for committing to BTC bets with some sort of escrow or multi-sig release feature? If not, there should be.)
That's why it doesn't make sense as North Korea. Their accepted motive goes as far as THE INTERVIEW, which was dodgy-enough to begin with, but which has already been shelved. Why would North Korea be threatening to release more information if their goals were already met?
Ignoring the rhetoric, the actions here looks much more like garden-variety data-ransom. If "their demands" were "x-million USD, don't contact the feds", then everything makes sense. Wiping the data. Only mentioning THE INTERVIEW after the press seized on it (misdirection and increased pressure on Sony). Actively promoting the tastiest bits of leaked data to the press. Releasing more as further deadlines pass without some unnamed capitulation (that's larger/different than simply shelving THE INTERVIEW). Having The Big Bad Deadline for a large future release.
That the US Government is publicly on-board with the DPRK theory also doesn't fit an actual "hack by North Korea" situation. The US Government gains nothing by naming perps, which is why they almost never do it, not even after the consensus opinion of third-party researchers makes an inescapable conclusion. If the perpetrators actually were North Korea, the US government would stand to lose more than most times, as we're currently trying to lure the DPRK back to the six-party talks. (A subject much larger than Sony Entertainment.)
That attribution would make perfect sense if the government is coordinating with Sony, but has to try to convince the hackers they aren't involved/competent/two-hops-away, etc. Given how cozy the US press is with the US government, I wouldn't be surprised if they were knowingly pushing the "it's totally North Korea" angle in the service of the investigation.