Saturday, December 20, 2014

A Surprising Response

North Korea has proposed that we enter into a joint investigation to identify the Sony hackers. The investigation, they feel, will prove their innocence. Of course, if we don't agree and, in fact, retaliate as Mr. Obama said yesterday, there will be “serious consequences”.  To me, this proposal makes sense assuming we can agree on the investigators.

The NY Times thinks that the Obama administration will not take the offer from the North seriously. Although some computer experts express doubts whether the North was actually behind the attack, American officials said it was similar to what was believed to be a North Korean cyberattack last year on South Korean banks and broadcasters. One key similarity was the fact that the hackers erased data from the computers.

I can't see how an attempt to create an investigative panel will be a bad thing for us and, possibly, for North Korea. Being in the same room with some North Koreans may be a good thing. If, in fact, the attack was not made by North Korea, I suspect that the perpetrators would wage another attack while we are talking with the North.

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