Professor Carsten Maple, the director of research in cybersecurity at WMG's Cyber Security Centre (CSC) at the University of Warwick, doesn’t believe North Korea is responsible for the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures.

“We are no doubt seeing a rise in state-sponsored attacks but also there are a significant number of ‘hacktivist’ attacks,” he said. “Just like states have skirmishes over territories, there’s now a battlefield around information, but my feeling is that North Korea is not behind the targeting of Sony Pictures.

“It could have been anyone – possibly a North Korean, a supporter of Kim Jong-Un, for example, but it could have also been for a million other reasons – it isn’t the first time Sony has fallen victim to cyber assaults. A spokesperson for the North Korean government said “wait and see” when asked if the Pyongyang was behind the attack. I doubt it – those aren’t usually the words of someone who is responsible for a hack. We will only really know when we hear more about the way the attackers got in – state attacks are usually more sophisticated, more expensive and take longer to develop.”

Note to Editors:

Professor Maple is available for interviews. Call 07850 297 725 or email Carsten.Maple@warwick.ac.uk.

Issued by Lee Page, Communications Manager, Press and Policy Office, The University of Warwick. Tel: +44 (0)2476 574 255, Mob: +44 (0)7920 531 221. Email: l.page@warwick.ac.uk.

 

Contacts:

Professor Maple

+44 (0)7850 297 725

Carsten.Maple@warwick.ac.uk.

Lee Page, Communications Manager

+44 (0)2476 574 255

+44 (0)7920 531 221

 l.page@warwick.ac.uk