Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)

In November 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) was the target of a destructive cyberattack in retaliation for the movie 'The Interview,' a comedy about the assassination of North Korea's leader. The attackers, identified as part of the Lazarus Group associated with North Korea, sent malware to SPE employees to gain network access. They then proceeded to steal confidential data, issue threats to SPE executives and employees, and damage thousands of computers. This attack not only led to significant data loss and damage but also highlighted the vulnerabilities within the entertainment industry to state-sponsored cyber threats. The incident underscored the need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect against sophisticated cyber espionage and sabotage activities.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/north-korean-regime-backed-programmer-charged-conspiracy-conduct-multiple-cyber-attacks-and

TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/sony-pictures-entertainment

"id": "son316050724",
"linkid": "sony-pictures-entertainment",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "06/2018",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Entertainment',
                        'name': 'Sony Pictures Entertainment',
                        'type': 'Company'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Malware',
 'data_breach': {'type_of_data_compromised': 'Confidential data'},
 'date_detected': 'November 2014',
 'description': 'In November 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) was the '
                'target of a destructive cyberattack in retaliation for the '
                "movie 'The Interview,' a comedy about the assassination of "
                "North Korea's leader. The attackers, identified as part of "
                'the Lazarus Group associated with North Korea, sent malware '
                'to SPE employees to gain network access. They then proceeded '
                'to steal confidential data, issue threats to SPE executives '
                'and employees, and damage thousands of computers. This attack '
                'not only led to significant data loss and damage but also '
                'highlighted the vulnerabilities within the entertainment '
                'industry to state-sponsored cyber threats. The incident '
                'underscored the need for robust cybersecurity measures to '
                'protect against sophisticated cyber espionage and sabotage '
                'activities.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Confidential data',
            'systems_affected': 'Thousands of computers'},
 'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Malware sent to SPE employees'},
 'lessons_learned': 'The incident underscored the need for robust '
                    'cybersecurity measures to protect against sophisticated '
                    'cyber espionage and sabotage activities.',
 'motivation': "Retaliation for the movie 'The Interview'",
 'threat_actor': 'Lazarus Group',
 'title': 'Sony Pictures Entertainment Cyber Attack',
 'type': 'Cyberattack'}