Ex-Sony Employees Echo Cybersecurity Company’s Suspicion That Hack Was An Inside Job

A Silicon Valley cybersecurity firm is doubling down on its claim that at least one former Sony employee was involved in hacking Sony. Some former employees of the company are expressing that sentiment as well, even as the U.S. government stands by its conclusion that North Korea orchestrated the massive cyberattack.

Kurt Stammberger, senior vice president at Norse, which provides cyber intelligence to customers in financial services, technology and government, told The Huffington Post that the company remains “pretty confident” that “at least one ex-employee was involved, probably more” in the Sony hack.

As evidence, Stammberger said that Norse has samples of malware used in the Sony hack that existed as early as July, “completely in English with no Korean whatsoever.” Sony credentials, server addresses and digital certificates were already built into the malware, he added.

“It’s virtually impossible to get that information unless you are an insider, were an insider, or have been working with an insider,” he said. “That’s why we and so many other security professionals are convinced an insider played an important role.”

The information doesn’t discount the fact that North Korea “definitely benefitted from this hack,” Stammberger said. However, he added, “There’s no credible evidence that [North Korea] initiated, directed, masterminded or funded this attack.”

Norse’s research underscores the mysteriousness surrounding the hack — an event that rattled that studio, almost derailed a movie’s release and sharpened U.S. policy against one of its main adversaries.

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