Thousands could launch Sony-style cyber attack, says ex-hacker
The chances of another company suffering the devastating effects of a cyber attack like the one perpetrated on Sony last year are not as remote as we would like to believe, security researchers say.
Given the current security levels for most companies, 90 percent of them would be vulnerable to such an attack, which destroyed 3,000 computers and released sensitive information and proprietary content, security experts tell "60 Minutes." And there is no shortage of technically proficient people willing to launch such an attack, said Jon Miller, a former hacker who now serves as vice president of strategy at Cylance, an antivirus software maker.
"There are probably a couple thousand, three, four, five-thousand people that could do [the Sony] attack today," Miller tells "60 Minutes"' Steve Croft in an interview airing Sunday evening on CBS television stations. "Not all of them are in friendly countries and the number is growing rapidly."
