LONDON: Businesses reassess their security controls after the Sony Pictures hack and a following cyberattack that crippled the Xbox and Sony PlayStation networks on Christmas morning.
“It is the new normal,” said Adam Towvim, chief executive of TrustLayers, a data security company. “This is a wake-up call. Who is accessing the data isn’t the right question to be asking anymore, it should be how is the data being used, what are they doing with the data, which country is it being moved to.”
The networks powering the two largest video game consoles, XBox Live and The PlayStation Network, were both down yesterday after a group called Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the hack on Twitter. As of last night, the PlayStation Network remained down, but Xbox Live was largely operating.
PlayStation is owned by Sony, but it is unclear if there is any connection between that attack and the Sony Pictures hack.
“Just like we see in physical life, there are copycats in cyberworld,” said Christopher Ahlberg, chief executive of Recorded Future, which monitors cyber-threats.
Towvim said many businesses reached out after details of the Sony Pictures hack emerged, asking what other steps can be taken to protect their networks. He said companies can’t just try to keep attackers out, they need to also monitor internal data so red flags go up if there is any change in the way it is being used.
“Access control is still important, but real time visibility is now critical,” Towvim said. “You can’t just lock the data down. These persistent threats that happen inside the network, they do not look like proper use of the data. If you attach usage limitations to that data and you monitor that use, you have a totally different way, if not preventing, at the very least going a long way towards mitigating the risk.”
Computer security expert Bruce Schneier, said the Sony hack could give other companies with lax security protocols the necessary incentive to tighten their controls. The hackers apparently were able to run rampant inside Sony’s network, he said, thanks in part to an unencrypted list of passwords called “Passwords.”
Said Schneier: “Maybe if we’re lucky some more companies wake up and take security more seriously.”
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