A cybersecurity firm conducting its own investigation of the Sony Pictures hack claims it has identified six individuals involved in the criminal attack, including one former studio employee based in America as well as participants from Canada, Thailand and Singapore.
Norse Corp, which offers live attack intelligence to corporate and government clients, says a probe independent of the FBI and Sony’s internal investigation has turned up an ex-staffer with “extensive knowledge of the company’s network and operations,” according to the Daily Caller.
Before the holidays, the FBI issued a public statement saying the agency “has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions.” Sony’s own investigation is ongoing. Norse and Sony have not yet returned TheWrap’s request for comment.
Norse vice president Kurt Stammberger said the half-dozen suspects had “direct involvement in the hack,” in efforts that were coordinated using the employee’s firsthand knowledge. In a previous report, Stammberger identified the insider as “Lena,” whom he suggested has ties to self-identified hackers Guardians of Peace.
“This woman was in precisely the right position and had the deep technical background she would need to locate the specific servers that were compromised,” Stammberger told CBS News.
Norse offered no further motivation for an independent review other than “the premise that the attack would have been best executed from the inside,” wrote the Caller.