Udi Mokady On Sony Corp (SNE) Hacking

Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s recent breach is looking like cyber vandalism, Udi Mokady told CNBC in a recent discussion.

According to the President and CEO of CyberArk, a maker of security software for companies, the Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) hack makes it clear that it no longer matter who is responsible for breaches in companies’ networks, what matters more is how companies’ set up their networks and whether those networks are vulnerable to attacks.

Nonetheless, when probed, he noted that the attack on Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) appears to be more of a vandalism attack.

“I think it’s similar to other attacks […]. The difference in this one was the intent was really to cause damage and really to bring a company down to its knees. But in other attacks, if the intent is to steal credit cards, the intent is to steal intellectual property, they operate the same – they go on the inside, they move around, they try to get strong access and [then] steal the information. This time around, it was really to bring the organization down and that’s what smells like vandalism,” Mokady said.

Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) was recently breached and saw the leak of documents; personal data of employees, executives and stars; and even movies. It has also led to the cancelling of the movie “The Interview”. With some fingers pointed at North Korea because of the attack, the event has spawned discussions about cyber terrorism, censorship and politics in the cyber warfare age.

Meanwhile, Mokady said that the massive attack on Sony has also resulted in more serious discussions in management teams of companies, particularly among C-level officials, about how secure their companies are against cyber-attacks.

He said that executives are no longer just asking how protected their companies’ networks and systems are but also what plans are in place in case these networks and systems are breached.

Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) shareholders includes Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors which reported ownership of about 5.35 million shares in the entertainment and technology giant by the end of the third quarter.