Iran hacking, IPv6 and North Korea v. Sony

Report details Iranian hacking group that hit NMCI last year

Every few months, a cybersecurity firm unearths a state-sponsored hacking ring. The latest firm to do so is Irvine, Calif.-based Cylance, and the culprit is Iran.

A new report from the firm says hackers tied to Iran targeted critical infrastructure firms, government agencies and universities in 16 countries around the world, including the United States. Cylance reveals that the Iranian hacking group was behind an attack last year on the unclassified computers of the Navy Marine Corps Intranet.

DOD falling short on IPv6 adoption

The Defense Department is lagging in its adoption of IPv6 and needs to make it a priority for reasons of cybersecurity and for supporting its plans for future operations, according to a report from the DOD Inspector General.

Defense System reports that the IG report finds DOD "has lacked a clear plan and the coordinated effort necessary for moving to the new Internet protocols and needs to 'reinitiate' its migration efforts."

North Korea mum on Sony cyberattack

North Korea is not denying it was behind a massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures as the company prepares to release a comedic film about an assassination plot that targets North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. The hackers, who struck Sony servers last week, have dumped nearly 40 GB worth of Sony data onto the Web, including five unreleased Sony films and the salaries and Social Security numbers of thousands of employees.

In "The Interview," actors Seth Rogen and James Franco play journalists tasked by the CIA with killing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Pyongyang has been furious about the film for months and complained to the United Nations about it. When asked about the hack of Sony, a spokesman for North Korea's mission to the UN was cryptic. "The hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea)," he told the BBC. "I kindly advise you to just wait and see."

A BuzzFeed report on the trove of leaked Sony data concluded that the cyberattack looked like "the most embarrassing and all-encompassing hack of internal corporate data ever made public."