How Did the Costs Add Up In Sony’s Hack?
Sony Pictures’ hack took great notice in the public sphere as it was the biggest hack an American company has ever experienced. While many suspected or still suspect North Korea of being behind the hack due to the movie The Interview, there are important questions about security costs being raised. The cost of downtime is huge and the cost of losing valuable company information can also pack a punch.
Sony Pictures lost a lot through the hack that took place late November. Its systems were shut down and private information regarding their products and employees was stolen. While the source of the attack was thought to be North Korea, a former Sony employee along with at least 5 others is suspected to be the cause. Several films were released online by the hackers as well as employee social security numbers.
Sony Pictures was forced to shut down its network in case another attack was to occur. They also lost valuable information that compromised the privacy of the company and its employees. The cost of the hack is hard to calculate, but there are many factors that come into play.
Beginning with Sony’s products; Sony Pictures had 5 films released through the hack including Annie and The Interview. The films released were previously unreleased and compromised how they would perform once in the box office.
Since these films were made easily available to the public on popular illegal web-streaming sites, the movies lost a lot of money being available for free.
Sony Pictures also had to shut down its network to avoid further damage. Downtime is a huge concern for companies. Millions of dollars are lost every year from the loss of productivity. Sony paid the price when its systems were down through the cost of employees and loss in production. The company was essentially paying for not running. That’s not something any company wants to do.
The next big loss was information. All companies should be in the business of information and keeping their data safe. Sony Pictures had a lot of information leaked. From their digital products to emails and employee profiles, which included Social Security Numbers, their information was available online. Information is a tough resource to lose because it can be replicated and shared at virtually no cost but hinders the company when lost. Sony was forced to use its resources to protect its information form spreading.
The Sony Pictures hack had Sony backing up to recover. The company was put at a standstill while figuring out how to recover. Instead of being able to produce and continue to grow it had to focus its energy on recovering. For many companies, a hack like this could mean the end. Customers and clients lose faith in your company and that loss of trust also adds to the loss. That is why it is so important for businesses to take the necessary precautions to keep their data secure.
Having secure servers is an expensive task and for many companies, a solution is out of reach. Luckily, cloud providers are available to create a secure place for businesses to keep their information. Cloud providers put their resources toward maintenance of systems and keeping up to date with top security standards. The cloud is a great option to keep your business safe from a hack that could possibly end your company.