A senior FBI official said yesterday the agency has not confirmed widely held suspicions that North Korea is behind the unprecedented cyber attack on Sony's Hollywood studio.
"There is no attribution to North Korea at this point," Joe Demarest, assistant director with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cyber division, said while speaking on a panel at a cyber security conference sponsored by Bloomberg Government.
The comment casts at least some doubt on the widely held belief that North Korea has definitely been determined as the culprit in the massive attack on the Hollywood studio, leaving room for other theories to emerge.
Cyber security researchers who have analysed the malicious software used in the attack say technical indicators suggest North Korean hackers launched the attack. People close to separate investigations being conducted by Sony and the government have told Reuters that North Korea is a principal suspect, yet a North Korean diplomat has denied his nation is involved.
Demarest also said there has been no confirmation of government involvement to date, though he did not elaborate.
FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell said the agency is continuing its search for the attackers, but had no additional information.
Demarest's brief comments were the first public remarks by a senior FBI official about its investigation into the unprecedented attack on US soil. Hackers stole vast quantities of data, and then used malicious software to wipe data on computers, shutting down much of the Sony unit's network for more than a week.
FBI representatives plan to meet with Sony employees on Wednesday to provide them training in cyber security practices, Campbell said.
"As part of our commitment to helping private industry protect against the threat posed by malicious cyber criminals, the FBI routinely provides briefings on cyber security awareness," he said.
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