CybersecurityFBI, DHS study threats against news organizations covering “The Interview” incident
Last week, the FBI and DHS issued a joint intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the country urging them to remain vigilant, citing a series of threats against movie theaters that show “The Interview” and news organizations that continue to cover the incident between Sony Entertainmentand Guardians of Peace, the hacking group allegedly backed by North Korea. A Tennessee man has since emerged saying he issued the threat against the news organizations and that he was just “messing around,” but the FBI is trying to determine whether the threat to news organizations was indeed a hoax.
Last week, the FBI and DHS issued a joint intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the country urging them to remain vigilant, citing a series of threats against movie theaters that show “The Interview” and news organizations that continue to cover the incident between Sony Entertainment and Guardians of Peace, the hacking group allegedly backed by North Korea. ABC News reports that shortly after news of the bulletin surfaced, a man claiming to be David Garrett Jr. in Tennessee posted on Twitter that he released the “fake” threat against the news organizations and was just “messing around.” The FBI is now trying to determine whether the threat to news organizations was indeed a hoax.
An FBI spokesman said that despite questions over the legitimacy of the threat to news organizations, the agency takes all threats seriously. “As part of our commitment to public safety, the FBI routinely shares information with the private sector and law enforcement community….. and will continue to disseminate relevant information observed during the course of our investigations, in order to help protect the public against any potential threats.”
The FBI bulletin notes that there is no “specific credible information” to indicate a “physical threat,” and admits that hacking groups tend to exaggerate threat statements. “The potential remains for (Guardians of Peace) or copycat actors to make renewed cyber and/or implied physical threats, to identify new targets, or execute physical attacks if the movie is again scheduled for release,” according to the bulletin, released online by The Intercept.
No specific news outlet has been mentioned, but if a Sony-style attack was issued against a news organization, it could release countless sensitive information including confidential sources. Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told The Intercept that media outlets are already regularly targeted by state-sponsored hackers. “This FBI bulletin is just the latest example that digital security is now a critical press freedom issue, and why news organizations need to make ubiquitous encryption a high priority,” he said
