MBA 703 Assignment 5
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School
Louisiana State University, Shreveport *
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Course
703
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by jrasco
In 2014 Sony experienced an extensive cyber breach that exposed sensitive information that brought the company to its knees. Sony was irresponsible with the data they stored and the reaction to the attack was ineffective. With this massive and very public leak of data by a foreign government, lends to the question about the US government and whether or not it should involve
itself with the dealings of private companies.
The response Sony had responding to the breach can be considered inadequate for several
reasons. The company failed to take sufficient action to protect its data from cyber attacks even after being made aware of potential threats. Sony’s antiquated security systems and the deficient encryption exposed its vulnerable network to more sophisticated cyber threats (Smith, 2019). The negligence of Sony to secure its data along with their employees’ sensitive data caused them to be a target of malicious actors.
The other failing of Sony was that the communication and the handling of the crisis aftermath of the breach were deficient. Instead of being proactive about addressing the situation and being communicative with the public, Sony was silent for an extended period. This left their
shareholders and employees, along with the public, confused and feeling a lack of confidence in their ability to handle the situation effectively. This caused further damage to Sony’s reputation (Johnson, 2018). Early and often communication internally and externally could have caused a different outcome for the public confidence in them.
With the data breach and the great disdain North Korea had for the movie that painted them in a poor light, caused a question to arise on whether the US government should take action
to assist private companies facing cyber attacks by foreign governments. It has been argued by some that the government has a responsibility to intervein to protect citizens and businesses from
all forms of external threats. The government can help mitigate the impact of cyber breaches and
safeguard national security interests by providing support and resources to private companies. However, others have contended that the government should not intervein in the affairs of
private companies because it could set a risky precedent and infringe upon the principles of free enterprise within the US. There are also concerns about the government’s ability to respond adequately to cyber threats because of the challenging nature of cybersecurity that is rapidly changing. Government agencies often lack the tenure and timely responsiveness needed to counteract attacks (Brown, 2020). Another reason that the government is not adequately equipped to handle such threats is because top talent a better compensated within the private sector than what the government can offer.
To conclude, the response Sony had was wanting, they failed to deter the cyberattack along with handling the aftermath internally and externally causing irreparable damage to their reputation. Furthermore, it appears that Sony did not learn from these mistakes because they experienced two other hacks in 2023 by a single server in Japan (Kovacs, 2023). While the US government has a responsibility in protecting private companies against malicious attacks from foreign countries, it should balance its involvement considering national security and its long stance of free enterprise.
References
Brown, A. (2020). Government Intervention in Cybersecurity: Pros and Cons. Journal of Cybersecurity Studies, 5(2), 87-102.
Johnson, E. (2018). Crisis Management in the Digital Age: Lessons from Sony's Cyber Breach.
Business Communication Quarterly, 30(4), 451-468.
Kovacs, E. (2023, October 5). Sony Confirms Data Stolen in Two Recent Hacker Attacks.
SecurityWeek. https://www.securityweek.com/sony-confirms-data-stolen-in-two-recent-
hacker-attacks/
Smith, J. (2019). The Sony Cyber Breach: A Case Study in Cybersecurity Failures. Journal of
Information Security, 15(3), 209-225.
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