Some clued-in folks think Sony is negotiating to stop the leaks from continuing. It's hard for most folks to understand the commercial damage that a solid info theft program can deliver. Part of me thinks Sony is chickening out, but most of me is happy to see them take it seriously as a potentially existential threat for their business. Maybe it's an early sign of an industry groundswell towards effective infosec.
The answer, it seems to me, is wrath. The mind cannot foresee its own advance. --FA Hayek Specialization is for insects.
If the world has learned anything over the past decade and a half, it's that the Heckler's Veto works.
Sadly.
Fairness leads to extinction much faster than harsh parameters.
Maybe Sony needs to hire an army and treat the Norks to a proper response to this act of war?Originally Posted by MDS
Sony revenue: $77 billion USD
http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Sony_...9/Data/Revenue
DPRK GDP: ~$40 Billion USD
http://www.heritage.org/index/country/northkorea
Ok... yes.. it's a stupid idea... but... Now that the Norks have proven it can be done without repercussion, who or what will be the next target of state sponsored cyber terrorism? Our electrical grid maybe?
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
I think it's safe to say there's more than heckling going on.
The answer, it seems to me, is wrath. The mind cannot foresee its own advance. --FA Hayek Specialization is for insects.
But prepare to drop a few IQ points in the process.
I found large amounts spiced rum made the movie better.
“If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi
Ho-de-doe, one minute there. They most certainly do not negotiate with terrorists. Bend over, grab ankles and sing Kumbya while apologizing, yes.
Negotiate, no.
Last edited by NEPAKevin; 12-18-2014 at 11:21 AM.
"You can't win a war with choirboys. " Mad Mike Hoare
So we now let psychotic fatasses in third world countries control what sorts of movies we get to watch in the US. Nice.
I second the notion that Sony should invade the norks.
Semper Gumby, Always Flexible
The heckler's veto gets taken seriously because people are afraid they'll heckle another consulate to the ground if we don't.
The obvious answer is a meme of Inigo Montoya's famous quote. But the truth is that no one knows how this whole cyber thing will evolve. There are those who think of "cyber" as another domain of warfare. If so, consider other warfare domains, and how they've evolved over time. Planes were originally used exclusively for recon. The though of aerial combat was so alien, that enemy pilots would wave at each other and etc. Then one day a pilot dropped, what? A stick of TNT? Anyway, aerial bombardment was born. Then a clever fellow stopped an bombing run with his, what? Mosin Nagant? Anyway, dog fighting was born. Leading-edge, creative, hacked-together uses for a fledgling new war domain. Yet today, dog-fights are, like, non existent or close enough. Who could imagine the bombing munitions of today? And who could imagine that an even more important benefit of air superiority would be logistical flexibility? It's a deep discussion and I'm not doing it justice, but hopefully we can agree that new "war domains" evolve in unexpected, unimaginable ways.
So, yeah. Today we see everything from simple theft a-la credit card fraud, to grass-roots political hacktivism, to organized professional "hacklers" financed by nation-states. And we can recognize a trend towards the deep financial impact that can be achieved with cyber superiority. But unlike the other, more mature warfare domains, we're foolish to think we can read the signs of cyber activity like we can read troop movements or naval strategery or even satellite positioning. Sony may very well be canceling a movie in order to literally continue existing as a viable business. It wouldn't be the first time.
So when someone makes demands by holding hostage your very existence - or, at least, the very livelihood of many employees - I don't think it's too far out there to call it terrorism. I know that doesn't quite sound right. Because the thing is, the conceptual frameworks we have to think about crime and terrorism and war need to evolve to include the new relationships and activities and consequences that are possible now. We need to take a step back and think about our thinking, before we can really think productively about the Sony situation.
I'll stop now, because I notice I'm ranting. It's something I feel a little passionate about. I'd hate for us to be left behind the 8-ball as the cyber domain evolves around us...
The answer, it seems to me, is wrath. The mind cannot foresee its own advance. --FA Hayek Specialization is for insects.
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