Was North Korea behind it?

According to researchers at security firm Symantec, “the technical evidence points to the fact that this is Lazarus”. If that name sounds familiar, cast your mind back to 2014 when Sony Pictures was hit by a hacker group calling itself the Guardians of Peace. Analysis carried out by Novetta states that there was a “long trail of activities attributed to the Lazarus Group” and that the attack was carried out by “a more structured, resourced and motivated organisation” than hactivists. Due to the fact the Guardians of Peace demanded Sony to stop the distribution of its film The Interview (a comedy in which two men plot to assassinate Kim Jong-Un), suspicion was rife that North Korea had sponsored the attack.

Fast-forward to 2017, and Symantec has said “similarities in code and infrastructure” have been found between the Sony attack and WannaCry, suggesting that the Lazarus group was behind it and that North Korea may again be involved. However, some have criticised Symantec (and other companies who agree, such as Kaspersky Lab) for making such claims, saying that Lazarus has never been proven to be a North Korean-sponsored group.