Sony Could Secretly Release "The Interview" to White Hat Hackers

WASHINGTON - Dec. 21, 2014 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, DC, December 21, 2014 - Apparently stung by criticism that it backed down to terrorists in agreeing not to release "The Interview" through theaters on Christmas Day, Sony is now claiming not only that it is “actively pursuing” "alternatives" for releasing the film on a "different platform," but - according to today’s statement by a Sony lawyer -  it plans in fact to release the film.

More specifically, Sony lawyer David Boies said on Meet the Press Sunday morning that "Sony only delayed this . . .  "Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed. How it's going to be distributed I don't think anyone knows quite yet."

But most methods for possibly distributing this film are fraught with danger.  Speculation that Sony would bypass theaters and release the movie directly to the public by using existing distribution systems such as those of Netflix, Amazon, HBO, etc. has been quashed by insiders who pointed out that these major companies would be very unlikely to risk for themselves the same kind of cyber attack which has devastated Sony.

Bit Torrent claims it is willing to risk a cyber attack if Sony chooses to post "The Interview" on its Bundle service Internet platform, similar to how Thom Yorke recently distributed his new album; a technique which would allow Sony to set its own price.

But some have speculated that such a claim by Bit Torrent is more a publicity stunt than a genuine offer, and one which Sony is also unlikely to accept since it might further anger those who have already hacked the company.  Similar problems would arise if Sony posted the film to illegal pirate sites using torrent technology.

Indeed, any scheme which seeks to obtain money for Sony (or any other company) from the distribution of the controversial film would invite more hacking by the GOP since all they would have to do is "follow the money."  Moreover, persons who went to any such site to see the film would have legitimate concerns that their credit card and/or PayPal information would be stolen.

Following the money trail is a very common and relatively easy tactic for hackers, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who was recently credited with helping to inspire hacker terminology after he learned hacking at MIT even before there was an Internet or any personal computers.

One way - perhaps the only feasible way - to effectively defeat this attempt to censor a motion picture would be for the film to fall into the hands of “white hats” - hackers who try to serve the public interest, and generally abhor censorship - who would in turn post it anonymously on the Internet for all to see.

Since anyone could log on without paying a fee through a credit card, PayPal, etc. it would be very difficult for the GOP or other hackers to learn the identity of those who posted the film or those who simply signed on to view it, especially if the white hats used standard routing and other techniques to mask not only their identity but even their geographical location.  Moreover, Sony would have plausible deniability, claiming that the white hat hackers who posted the film for others hacked it in turn from Sony.

“Fighting fire with fire by using good hackers to defeat evil hackers might be the only way this film may finally be released, says Banzhaf, noting that Sony is already using questionable hacking techniques to try to protect its interests. The entertainment giant has reportedly gone into the hacking business itself with DDoS (distributed denial of service) and index poisoning (deliberately corrupting Sony files people are trying to download) attacks to limit the distribution of its intellectual property and embarrassing confidential information.

If Sony is unwilling to release the final version of the film to white hats, even surreptitiously, there are probably at least rough cuts if not final versions of the film already available to knowledgeable hackers, and white hats putting them up on untraceable servers so that anyone who wished could download them would defeat this extortion by using good hackers to undercut unscrupulous ones.

"It seems clear that if copies of the movie are made available to people in China or other nearby countries, they will quickly find their way into North Korea, which appears to be what its dictator was so afraid of," suggests Banzhaf.  There would be a wonderful irony if a plot by North Korea based upon hacking and unauthorized disclosure was defeated by more hacking and more unauthorized disclosure, says Banzhaf.

Sony would hardly be in a position to complain if its movie were made widely available for free on the Internet if they do not make good on the promise they made today to release it, says Banzhaf  Indeed, one can almost argue that this strategy, under these unique circumstances, involves "Fair [uncompensated] Use" under copyright law, says Banzhaf, an expert in copyright law who was the first person even to get copyright protection for computer programs, and one of the first to write on how the law applies to computers.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ @profbanzhaf