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U.S. Slaps New Sanctions on North Korea in Response to Sony Hack

30 points by happyscrappy 12y ago

beaner 12y ago
With all the security experts coming out saying that it's really likely it wasn't an attack by North Korea, maybe this is one of those things they call a "false flag" operation.
- ProAm 12y ago
  Well with war wrapping up in Afghanistan, we need somewhere else to focus our attention. I wish I was being sarcastic.
  - quonn 12y ago
    This seems unlikely. Even if North Korea would not be backed by China, could the US win a war? Probably not and they know it. North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world and they are probably crazy enough to take huge losses. This is not like Iraq at all, to say nothing of Afghanistan. There is also little to be gained. Syria would be a more obvious candidate. It's just as good for "focusing our attention", probably can get public support easily, would please both, Saudi Arabia and Israel and could even make strategic sense. (To be clear, I would oppose such a war, of course.)
    - adventured 12y ago
      When you have the superiority the US sports, it's not hard to win a war. It becomes a question of what you're willing to do to win it. The US is one of the only countries in history to have to deal with that question. Defeat Iran? Easy: nukes, or a never-ending bombing campaign that leaves nothing left standing. Throughout most of history, the problem with defeating an enemy wasn't a question of: well, but can we do it without killing too many people. North Korea's army is worthless. They're extraordinarily backwards, poorly trained, and with mediocre equipment. The problem would be the guerrilla warfare part, much like Vietnam. Iraq had one of the largest armies as well, and the world watched in shock as the US trivially dismantled it. The US would dismantle the standing North Korean military very quickly, it would be the next stage of the fight that would be terrible. If the US had a reason to really want to topple North Korea, the easy thing to do would be to make a deal with China: they get Taiwan tomorrow morning, and they allow North Korea to collapse, don't get involved if the US fights a war with North Korea, etc. China would make that deal in a heartbeat. The biggest problem in fighting a war with North Korea, as everyone knows, is the damage that would be done to South Korea.
      - alfiedotwtf 12y ago
        > When you have the superiority the US sports, it's not hard to win a war. What was the last war the US actually won?
        rertrree 12y ago
        You can check for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_Unit... ( 3 years ago )
        alfiedotwtf 12y ago
        > When you have the superiority the US sports, it's not hard to win a war. The "War on Terror" started in 2001 and is an ongoing clusterfuck. As the "War on Terror" hasn't concluded, the last war that the US won was Kosovo in 1999. I think Adventured overestimates US' superiority.
        rertrree 12y ago
        I suggest you read on North Korean military equipment, supplies and operational readiness. It is all about the details: They have the largest submarine force in the world; but every one of them is an outdated diesel-electric. They have a couple hundred fighter airplanes, but their trained pilots get 10-20 hours of practice every year. And so on... They aren't capable of a prolonged attack as they don't have enough food( literally ). At best they can defend for a long time and cause a lot of collateral damage with chemical weapons and short range nukes, which is enough to keep their enemies away.
        alfiedotwtf 12y ago
        > They have the largest submarine force in the world; but every one of them is an outdated diesel-electric. What's wrong with diesel-electric submaries. Here's US superiority vs diesel-electric subs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFVOL7mLd4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFVOL7mLd4 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/13/20061113-121539-3317r/?page=all http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/13/20061113-121...
    - jriley 12y ago
      I was surprised North Korea had such a large army. I checked; 48.5 active per 1000 capita, whereas US has 4.4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_military_and_paramilitary_personnel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_...
  - throwawayaway 12y ago
    Went from admissions of torturing some folks to getting hacked by the least internet connected country on the planet pretty quick.
- Dylan16807 12y ago
  Do you have any reason for that or are you just trying to be cheeky? Why would 'not north korea' imply the US, especially on such a simple attack? Now politicians using biased evidence to further their goals, that is far less exceptional.
jacquesm 12y ago
Is Sony an American company now? I thought they were still solidly Japanese with a US presence.
- happyscrappy 12y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Entertainment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Entertainment
  - barrkel 12y ago
    That appears to confirm that they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Japan.
    - MCRed 12y ago
      Yes. They are an american company that is owned by a Japanese company. Just the same as the Apple store in your town, which likely has its own LLC or corporate identity, is a company of your state, owned by a company in California. On the other hand, Sony cameras, for instance, are produced by Sony Japan, rather than an american company owned by Sony. The cameras are merely distributed here.
      - sandworm 12y ago
        Apple Sales International, Apple Operations International, Apple Distribution International, and Apple Operations are all headquartered in Ireland, not California. Only a tiny tiny number of specialist Apple people work and pay taxes in the US. All the big tickets (sales/distribution etc) are offshore. Add to that Apple's manufacturing base (China) and I think it safe to say that Apple is no longer an American company.
- ojii 12y ago
  Sony Pictures Entertainment (the movie studio) is a US company. It's a subsidiary of the Japanese company Sony.
vaadu 12y ago
The sock puppets in the mainstream media bought it when they told us a youtube video caused the Benghazi attacks. Why not try it again?
- junto 12y ago
  Wasn't the Benghazi attack more to do with the Iranians and Russians trying to stop the CIA secretly smuggling missiles and other weapons to Syrian rebels? I seem to remember reading that somewhere.
  - junto 12y ago
    Lots of downvoting on my comment above but no related feedback as to why? Maybe I'll just leave this here and people can judge for themselves: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-cia-mission-in-benghazi-2013-8?IR=T http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-cia-mission-in-ben...
oe 12y ago
Has someone actually suggested that the Sony attack was done by N.K? Edit: I mean is there some source that would back up the claim?
- jacquesm 12y ago
  http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/fbi-north-korea-to-blame-for-sony-hack/ http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/fbi-north-korea-to-blame-...
- rudolf0 12y ago
  Several large and respected security companies agree with the FBI's assessment, like Crowdstrike. Crowdstrike claims to have been tracking the NK group that did it for years. They've published information about that group (whom they've codenamed SILENT CHOLLIMA) in the past, so they're telling the truth about that at least. Obviously that is not proof that they're correct, but it adds a bit of weight. And of course, the company that Sony hired to investigate and clean up the breach, FireEye/Mandiant, believe it was North Korea. FireEye and Mandiant also track APT groups; Mandiant notably released their report on one of China's state-sponsored cyberwarfare divisions, APT1, some time ago. There are some dissenting opinions from other companies, like Norse and ErrataSec's Rob Graham. They are skeptical. However, these companies do not share Crowdstrike's or FireEye's niche industry, which is tracking and defending against targeted and government-sponsored groups. As far as I can tell, the organizations that would best know whether it was North Korea and who have information directly related to the case (FBI, NSA, FireEye, Crowdstrike) believe it was North Korea. The dissenting opinions are from security experts who are undoubtedly intelligent and great in their respective fields, but are really just being armchair analysts. So unless you think all of these organizations are either incompetent or are colluding to intentionally lie to the public, then NK remains the most likely hypothesis. It is certainly possible NK retained help from non-NK individuals, and it is possible an insider was involved, but the prevailing hypothesis among a large part of the security community is that NK's government ordered the attack.
Animats 12y ago
Now, from the people who brought you "Iraq was behind 9/11", we have "North Korea was behind the Sony hack". This is embarrassing for the FBI. They used to keep quiet until they were ready to arrest someone. Gawker says one security firm thinks it was an inside job by a laid-off Sony employee.(http://gawker.com/researcher-sony-hack-was-likely-an-inside-job-by-a-wom-1676556756 http://gawker.com/researcher-sony-hack-was-likely-an-inside-...) "Don't embarrass the Bureau" - internal FBI motto, Hoover era.
- Pyxl101 12y ago
  There were several different leaks or attacks from multiple actors, one of which has signs of being an inside job, but not all do. I recommend reading this analysis of the events for one perspective on the complexity of the situation: https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent_offers_distribute_sonys_the_interview/cn0ksh7 https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent...
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- sildur 12y ago
  Now, from the people who brought you "9/11 was an inside job", we have "The Sony hack was an inside job".
nostromo 12y ago
This makes no sense. The original demand was for money and wasn't political. > Then on Nov. 21, a strange message popped into several Sony executives’ inboxes. It was three days before the hacks debilitated the company. And this was their first contact. But the message didn’t talk politics. It didn’t mention anything about “The Interview.” What did the hackers want? Money. > “We’ve got great damage by Sony Pictures,” the message said, according to a copy published by Mashable. “The compensation for it, monetary compensation we want. Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole.” The message was signed: “From God’sApstls.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/18/why-its-still-not-certain-north-korea-is-behind-the-sony-hack/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/18...
- stefantalpalaru 12y ago
  Repetition does wonders to the perceived truth value of a story.
- einrealist 12y ago
  We must not forget that they threatened the US. So it would not make sense if they did not react (to the allegations and the movie) in the first place.
higherpurpose 12y ago
Greenwald: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/01/north-koreasony-story-shows-eager-u-s-media-still-regurgitate-government-claims/ https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/01/north-koreason...
naner 12y ago
Has there been any analysis from network/security communities posted to HN on the Sony hacks? All I've seen is reporting and opinion pieces, none that attempted to do research. This is the closest I've been able to find, some random guy on reddit from a couple weeks ago: http://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent_offers_distribute_sonys_the_interview/cn0ksh7 http://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent_...
- throwawayaway 12y ago
  who quotes the BBC's selective quote of a NK representative saying: "The hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea). I kindly advise you to just wait and see." down to "Wait and see." with a headline: "North Korea refuses to deny Sony Pictures cyber-attack" The more I read about this whole controversy the stupider I feel.
sandworm 12y ago
This entire fiasco reminds me of 'The Yes Men' and their reality hacks. Claim something loud enough and it becomes the story. The story is then repeated by the media, eventually forcing a change in government policy. The claim is then, for all intents and purposes, a new reality. An unavoidable downside of democracy is that politicians react to public belief, no matter how easily that belief is manipulated.
- dba7dba 12y ago
  Let's not forget the very public threats NK sent to anyone who would listen about the movie. Not that this is the first time NK did such a thing. NK is just getting what it really wanted, attention.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
dba7dba 12y ago
I for one support sanctions on NK for voicing threats against Sony. It's immaterial whether they did it or not. I'm just sick and tired of NK's tantrums and hopefully this will keep the propaganda arm of NK govt keep its mouth shut for a little while.
- aikah 12y ago
  Where is the proof NK did it ? did the FBI at least made a case against NK? or just because the president says NK did it,it's true? well maybe it's good enough for most people but that's the problem,it shouldn't be.
  - dba7dba 12y ago
    Not hard to find proof NK was threatening American company and citizens. http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-hackers-threaten-911-attack-on-movie-theaters-that-screen-the-interview-1201380712/ http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-hackers-threaten-911-...
    - aikah 12y ago
      Are you kidding me? that's what you call concrete evidence? aside from the FBI and the media repeating what the government says there is no evidence. So please don't pretend this Echo chamber does prove something.It doesn't.There is absolutely no evidence NK did it. At least during the WMDs madness,the Bush government tried to make a case.Now they don't even bother.Why would they? with people like you,they just have to point fingers at a country and say "let's go get them".
      - dba7dba 12y ago
        My God, my point was whether NK hacked or not. My point is NK is famous for threatening other nations. If any nation that doesn't deserve any benefit of doubt is NK. Kim doesn't deserve the title of 'head of a nation state'. I'm sure you are a good liberty minded person and if so, you shouldn't waste any energy defending little Kim.
aikah 12y ago
Wow,I mean,where is the evidence? I don't want to doubt the FBI but come on... So US slaps sanctions just like that? and who do you think it will hurt? the people again.It didn't work for Cuba,doesn't work for Iran,didn't work for north Korea all these years,and while Russia is in trouble,it's not due to US sanctions.
- Chronic30 12y ago
  You should voice your opinions to your local congressman. Meanwhile, shall we go back to building our mobile apps?
  - sakabaro 12y ago
    Lol, are you guys working together? HN is definetly the best place to address management issues.
  - aikah 12y ago
    You're right,back to what I do best I guess.
eps 12y ago
Wag the Dog, a reality show version.
madaxe_again 12y ago
So. I guess the US is going to invade... rolls dice The South Shetland Islands... for their role in, uh, um, malware in the white house. I swear we're run by a broken magic eight ball.

30 points by happyscrappy 12y ago

With all the security experts coming out saying that it's really likely it wasn't an attack by North Korea, maybe this is one of those things they call a "false flag" operation.

ProAm 12y ago
Well with war wrapping up in Afghanistan, we need somewhere else to focus our attention. I wish I was being sarcastic.
- quonn 12y ago
  This seems unlikely. Even if North Korea would not be backed by China, could the US win a war? Probably not and they know it. North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world and they are probably crazy enough to take huge losses. This is not like Iraq at all, to say nothing of Afghanistan. There is also little to be gained. Syria would be a more obvious candidate. It's just as good for "focusing our attention", probably can get public support easily, would please both, Saudi Arabia and Israel and could even make strategic sense. (To be clear, I would oppose such a war, of course.)
  - adventured 12y ago
    When you have the superiority the US sports, it's not hard to win a war. It becomes a question of what you're willing to do to win it. The US is one of the only countries in history to have to deal with that question. Defeat Iran? Easy: nukes, or a never-ending bombing campaign that leaves nothing left standing. Throughout most of history, the problem with defeating an enemy wasn't a question of: well, but can we do it without killing too many people. North Korea's army is worthless. They're extraordinarily backwards, poorly trained, and with mediocre equipment. The problem would be the guerrilla warfare part, much like Vietnam. Iraq had one of the largest armies as well, and the world watched in shock as the US trivially dismantled it. The US would dismantle the standing North Korean military very quickly, it would be the next stage of the fight that would be terrible. If the US had a reason to really want to topple North Korea, the easy thing to do would be to make a deal with China: they get Taiwan tomorrow morning, and they allow North Korea to collapse, don't get involved if the US fights a war with North Korea, etc. China would make that deal in a heartbeat. The biggest problem in fighting a war with North Korea, as everyone knows, is the damage that would be done to South Korea.
    - alfiedotwtf 12y ago
      > When you have the superiority the US sports, it's not hard to win a war. What was the last war the US actually won?
      - rertrree 12y ago
        You can check for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_Unit... ( 3 years ago )
        alfiedotwtf 12y ago
        > When you have the superiority the US sports, it's not hard to win a war. The "War on Terror" started in 2001 and is an ongoing clusterfuck. As the "War on Terror" hasn't concluded, the last war that the US won was Kosovo in 1999. I think Adventured overestimates US' superiority.
        rertrree 12y ago
        I suggest you read on North Korean military equipment, supplies and operational readiness. It is all about the details: They have the largest submarine force in the world; but every one of them is an outdated diesel-electric. They have a couple hundred fighter airplanes, but their trained pilots get 10-20 hours of practice every year. And so on... They aren't capable of a prolonged attack as they don't have enough food( literally ). At best they can defend for a long time and cause a lot of collateral damage with chemical weapons and short range nukes, which is enough to keep their enemies away.
        alfiedotwtf 12y ago
        > They have the largest submarine force in the world; but every one of them is an outdated diesel-electric. What's wrong with diesel-electric submaries. Here's US superiority vs diesel-electric subs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFVOL7mLd4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFVOL7mLd4 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/13/20061113-121539-3317r/?page=all http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/13/20061113-121...
  - jriley 12y ago
    I was surprised North Korea had such a large army. I checked; 48.5 active per 1000 capita, whereas US has 4.4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_military_and_paramilitary_personnel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_...
- throwawayaway 12y ago
  Went from admissions of torturing some folks to getting hacked by the least internet connected country on the planet pretty quick.
Dylan16807 12y ago
Do you have any reason for that or are you just trying to be cheeky? Why would 'not north korea' imply the US, especially on such a simple attack? Now politicians using biased evidence to further their goals, that is far less exceptional.

jacquesm 12y ago

Is Sony an American company now? I thought they were still solidly Japanese with a US presence.

happyscrappy 12y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Entertainment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Entertainment
- barrkel 12y ago
  That appears to confirm that they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Japan.
  - MCRed 12y ago
    Yes. They are an american company that is owned by a Japanese company. Just the same as the Apple store in your town, which likely has its own LLC or corporate identity, is a company of your state, owned by a company in California. On the other hand, Sony cameras, for instance, are produced by Sony Japan, rather than an american company owned by Sony. The cameras are merely distributed here.
    - sandworm 12y ago
      Apple Sales International, Apple Operations International, Apple Distribution International, and Apple Operations are all headquartered in Ireland, not California. Only a tiny tiny number of specialist Apple people work and pay taxes in the US. All the big tickets (sales/distribution etc) are offshore. Add to that Apple's manufacturing base (China) and I think it safe to say that Apple is no longer an American company.
ojii 12y ago
Sony Pictures Entertainment (the movie studio) is a US company. It's a subsidiary of the Japanese company Sony.

vaadu 12y ago

The sock puppets in the mainstream media bought it when they told us a youtube video caused the Benghazi attacks. Why not try it again?

junto 12y ago
Wasn't the Benghazi attack more to do with the Iranians and Russians trying to stop the CIA secretly smuggling missiles and other weapons to Syrian rebels? I seem to remember reading that somewhere.
- junto 12y ago
  Lots of downvoting on my comment above but no related feedback as to why? Maybe I'll just leave this here and people can judge for themselves: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-cia-mission-in-benghazi-2013-8?IR=T http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-cia-mission-in-ben...

oe 12y ago

Has someone actually suggested that the Sony attack was done by N.K? Edit: I mean is there some source that would back up the claim?

jacquesm 12y ago
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/fbi-north-korea-to-blame-for-sony-hack/ http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/fbi-north-korea-to-blame-...
rudolf0 12y ago
Several large and respected security companies agree with the FBI's assessment, like Crowdstrike. Crowdstrike claims to have been tracking the NK group that did it for years. They've published information about that group (whom they've codenamed SILENT CHOLLIMA) in the past, so they're telling the truth about that at least. Obviously that is not proof that they're correct, but it adds a bit of weight. And of course, the company that Sony hired to investigate and clean up the breach, FireEye/Mandiant, believe it was North Korea. FireEye and Mandiant also track APT groups; Mandiant notably released their report on one of China's state-sponsored cyberwarfare divisions, APT1, some time ago. There are some dissenting opinions from other companies, like Norse and ErrataSec's Rob Graham. They are skeptical. However, these companies do not share Crowdstrike's or FireEye's niche industry, which is tracking and defending against targeted and government-sponsored groups. As far as I can tell, the organizations that would best know whether it was North Korea and who have information directly related to the case (FBI, NSA, FireEye, Crowdstrike) believe it was North Korea. The dissenting opinions are from security experts who are undoubtedly intelligent and great in their respective fields, but are really just being armchair analysts. So unless you think all of these organizations are either incompetent or are colluding to intentionally lie to the public, then NK remains the most likely hypothesis. It is certainly possible NK retained help from non-NK individuals, and it is possible an insider was involved, but the prevailing hypothesis among a large part of the security community is that NK's government ordered the attack.

Animats 12y ago

Now, from the people who brought you "Iraq was behind 9/11", we have "North Korea was behind the Sony hack". This is embarrassing for the FBI. They used to keep quiet until they were ready to arrest someone. Gawker says one security firm thinks it was an inside job by a laid-off Sony employee.(http://gawker.com/researcher-sony-hack-was-likely-an-inside-job-by-a-wom-1676556756 http://gawker.com/researcher-sony-hack-was-likely-an-inside-...) "Don't embarrass the Bureau" - internal FBI motto, Hoover era.

Pyxl101 12y ago
There were several different leaks or attacks from multiple actors, one of which has signs of being an inside job, but not all do. I recommend reading this analysis of the events for one perspective on the complexity of the situation: https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent_offers_distribute_sonys_the_interview/cn0ksh7 https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent...
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
sildur 12y ago
Now, from the people who brought you "9/11 was an inside job", we have "The Sony hack was an inside job".

nostromo 12y ago

This makes no sense. The original demand was for money and wasn't political. > Then on Nov. 21, a strange message popped into several Sony executives’ inboxes. It was three days before the hacks debilitated the company. And this was their first contact. But the message didn’t talk politics. It didn’t mention anything about “The Interview.” What did the hackers want? Money. > “We’ve got great damage by Sony Pictures,” the message said, according to a copy published by Mashable. “The compensation for it, monetary compensation we want. Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole.” The message was signed: “From God’sApstls.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/18/why-its-still-not-certain-north-korea-is-behind-the-sony-hack/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/18...

stefantalpalaru 12y ago
Repetition does wonders to the perceived truth value of a story.
einrealist 12y ago
We must not forget that they threatened the US. So it would not make sense if they did not react (to the allegations and the movie) in the first place.

higherpurpose 12y ago

Greenwald: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/01/north-koreasony-story-shows-eager-u-s-media-still-regurgitate-government-claims/ https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/01/north-koreason...

naner 12y ago

Has there been any analysis from network/security communities posted to HN on the Sony hacks? All I've seen is reporting and opinion pieces, none that attempted to do research. This is the closest I've been able to find, some random guy on reddit from a couple weeks ago: http://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent_offers_distribute_sonys_the_interview/cn0ksh7 http://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2puo8h/bittorrent_...

throwawayaway 12y ago
who quotes the BBC's selective quote of a NK representative saying: "The hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea). I kindly advise you to just wait and see." down to "Wait and see." with a headline: "North Korea refuses to deny Sony Pictures cyber-attack" The more I read about this whole controversy the stupider I feel.

sandworm 12y ago

This entire fiasco reminds me of 'The Yes Men' and their reality hacks. Claim something loud enough and it becomes the story. The story is then repeated by the media, eventually forcing a change in government policy. The claim is then, for all intents and purposes, a new reality. An unavoidable downside of democracy is that politicians react to public belief, no matter how easily that belief is manipulated.

dba7dba 12y ago
Let's not forget the very public threats NK sent to anyone who would listen about the movie. Not that this is the first time NK did such a thing. NK is just getting what it really wanted, attention.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

dba7dba 12y ago

I for one support sanctions on NK for voicing threats against Sony. It's immaterial whether they did it or not. I'm just sick and tired of NK's tantrums and hopefully this will keep the propaganda arm of NK govt keep its mouth shut for a little while.

aikah 12y ago
Where is the proof NK did it ? did the FBI at least made a case against NK? or just because the president says NK did it,it's true? well maybe it's good enough for most people but that's the problem,it shouldn't be.
- dba7dba 12y ago
  Not hard to find proof NK was threatening American company and citizens. http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-hackers-threaten-911-attack-on-movie-theaters-that-screen-the-interview-1201380712/ http://variety.com/2014/film/news/sony-hackers-threaten-911-...
  - aikah 12y ago
    Are you kidding me? that's what you call concrete evidence? aside from the FBI and the media repeating what the government says there is no evidence. So please don't pretend this Echo chamber does prove something.It doesn't.There is absolutely no evidence NK did it. At least during the WMDs madness,the Bush government tried to make a case.Now they don't even bother.Why would they? with people like you,they just have to point fingers at a country and say "let's go get them".
    - dba7dba 12y ago
      My God, my point was whether NK hacked or not. My point is NK is famous for threatening other nations. If any nation that doesn't deserve any benefit of doubt is NK. Kim doesn't deserve the title of 'head of a nation state'. I'm sure you are a good liberty minded person and if so, you shouldn't waste any energy defending little Kim.

aikah 12y ago

Wow,I mean,where is the evidence? I don't want to doubt the FBI but come on... So US slaps sanctions just like that? and who do you think it will hurt? the people again.It didn't work for Cuba,doesn't work for Iran,didn't work for north Korea all these years,and while Russia is in trouble,it's not due to US sanctions.

Chronic30 12y ago
You should voice your opinions to your local congressman. Meanwhile, shall we go back to building our mobile apps?
- sakabaro 12y ago
  Lol, are you guys working together? HN is definetly the best place to address management issues.
- aikah 12y ago
  You're right,back to what I do best I guess.

eps 12y ago

Wag the Dog, a reality show version.

madaxe_again 12y ago

So. I guess the US is going to invade... rolls dice The South Shetland Islands... for their role in, uh, um, malware in the white house. I swear we're run by a broken magic eight ball.