Sony Fires Off Letter To Press Outlets Demanding They Cease Publication Of And Destroy Any 'Stolen Information'
from the that-one-time-when-a-major-corporation-shot-itself-in-the-face dept
Sony may have no idea how to how to run a secure enterprise, but it doesn't really take a whole lot of expertise or technical know-how to see that this particular gambit could only backfire.In a sharply worded letter sent to news organizations, including The New York Times, David Boies, a lawyer for Sony, characterized the documents posted online as “stolen information” and demanded that they be avoided, and destroyed if they had already been downloaded or otherwise acquired.Somebody approved this -- someone higher up than David Boies. And that someone should probably step down and concentrate on staining his yacht deck or seeking to be nominated in the next Congressional election, or whatever it is studio execs do when they've outlived their usefulness.
The studio “does not consent to your possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading or making any use” of the information, Mr. Boies wrote in a three-page letter sent Sunday morning to the legal departments of media organizations.
The letter's wording [pdf link] makes it sound as though the press outlets are doing something illegal (mainly through repetitive use of the word "stolen") but is careful never to make that actual claim. It tries to bluster its way towards legitimacy by inserting a list of "in case of 'stolen' information" requests (worded to look like legal demands) into the letter.
As soon as you suspect that you may have possession of any of the Stolen Information*, we ask that you
(1) notify us using the contact information provided below;
(2) take all reasonable actions to prevent your company and any of your employees, independent contractors, agents, consultants, or anyone who may have access to your files from examining, copying, disseminating, distributing, publishing, downloading,uploading, or making any other use of the Stolen Information;
(3) arrange for and supervise the destruction of all copies of the Stolen Information in your possession or under your control, particularly information protected under US. and foreign legal doctrines protecting attorney-client privileged communications, attorney work product, and related privileges and protections, as well as private financial and other confidential information and communications of current and former personnel and others, confidential personnel data, intellectual property, trade secrets andother business secrets and related communications; and
(4) confirm that such destruction has been completed.**
In addition, if you have provided the Stolen Information to anyone outside of your company, we ask that you provide them with a copy of this letter, and request the destruction of the Stolen Information by the recipient.[*"Stolen Information" being much more sensitive than your garden variety, lower-case "stolen information," obvs.]
[**"Recycle Bin had little pieces of paper in it, but now appears to be empty."]
I imagine the contact information provided is swiftly being bombarded with ridicule, fake tips, more ridicule, more fake tips and pictures of empty Recycle Bins.
The only threat in the document (other than the overall tone) is this:
If you do not comply with this request, and the Stolen Information is used or disseminated by you in any manner, SPE will have no choice but to hold you responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination by you, including any damages or loss to SPE or others, and including, but not limited to, any loss of value of intellectual property and trade secrets resulting from your actions.OK. Good luck with that. The Supreme Court has already held that this sort of dissemination is protected by the First Amendment. (h/t to Marcia Hofmann)
In a 6-3 opinion delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Court held that the First Amendment protects the disclosure of illegally intercepted communications by parties who did not participate in the illegal interception.The only mitigating factor is the relative worth of the "stolen information" to the public interest. Much of what's been covered likely isn't and much of what's contained in the files that hasn't been disseminated by press outlets definitely isn't. But there are some revelations that are definitely matters of public interest, not the least of which is the MPAA's plan to throw money at elected officials in exchange for some Google-hassling.
Sony appears to be in full panic mode, but it's tough to sympathize with a corporation that has been hacked 56 times in 12 years but still keeps passwords in a folder labeled "Passwords." This latest move won't earn it anything more than an internetload of derision.
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Filed Under: david boies, emails, first amendment, free speech, journalism, sony emails, sony hack, sony pictures hack, stolen information, threats
Companies: sony, sony pictures
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O_O
They paid them for the result of even MORE people seeing the stories and being way more curious about what is out there that made them lose their damn minds and unleash the lawyers with little grasp of the actual law.
No wonder the "creative" sector is having problems, they are so far removed form reality that they think this was a good idea and would work.
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http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/in-damage-control-sony-targets-reporters/
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The noted First Amendment scholar discusses Bartnicki v Vopper (2001).
(H/T Brian Krebs).
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Shoot the Messenger
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Sony execs trash talking others shows their bad character, which informs the moral decisions of consumers who might choose not to patronize businesses run by racist, democracy-subverting asshats.
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I haven't seen her pictures, but I don't recall anybody mentioning that she engaged in body writing as a method of communication.
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I'll leave the fact that you have some of your other facts completely wrong (e.g. the celebrities' phones weren't hacked, their iCloud accounts were) until later, then perhaps ask you to point to where people are saying this is morally OK (schadenfreude over a company with a long-term anti-consumer history doesn't count).
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"Passwords" folder
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Re: "Passwords" folder
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Oh...the irony...
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It's come up in a lot of comments that I've seen in defense of CIA torture.
Heck, Cheney keeps saying, "it was legal," and thus conjuring in the minds of many the Episode I footage of Darth Sidious saying in the next breath, "I will make it legal!"
It's like the religious fundamentalists who cherry pick isolated passages from the old testament to justify persecuting people just because "God said it was okay in this one instance."
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I hate this. I hate this more than almost anything. They're basically saying that things are right or wrong based on whether enough rich fuckers paid for enough politicians to vote for it.
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SS and the second entitlement woe
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Dear Sony
Love,
The Internet
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Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP
I checked the letterhead from the linked pdf, and sure enough that's Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP letterhead.
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Re: Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP
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Well, they ARE part of the MAFIAA...
Now I have this image of studio execs who have outlived their usefulness being tossed into the lowest level of the film vault at the studio, feet encased in blocks of celluloid...
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Call the Orco man!
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I look forward to reading more....and seeing Sony get their face wiped in poop over and over.
Good Job GOP !
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So, Assange is cleared?
Bradley/Chelsea Manning stole classified secrets, was convicted and sent to prison. Assange released said stolen info which the supremes say is okay? Why's he holed up in the Equadorian embassy again? Other than "concocted rape" charges, I know, but does he need to fear the US gov't wrath for releasing Manning's trove of state secrets? The supremes say no, yes?
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Say hi to Babs
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Sony Rootkit
If Sony hadn't done the Sony rootkit a few years ago, I would have sympathy for them.
But they did that rootkit, and Sony tried to (and did) crack other people's computers.
So fuck 'em. Fuck 'em to hell.
They deserve a lot worse than they are getting now.
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Except, in this case, this "someone", "overhears" EVERY "pub conversation" ever.......i.e yet again, MORE surveilance
WTF are these "guys" gonna be PUNISHED, they've gotten away with FAR to much already
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Evolution off man
The studio “does not consent to your possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading or making any use” of the information, "
Pen and paper warrior
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Dancing around the dinosaurs.
OK, so a lot of that is just wishful thinking... :)
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WikiLeaks vs Gossip
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Outlets en Buenos Aires
www.outlets-bsas.com.ar
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