Sony Debacle Puts Companies on Offensive

Sony Debacle Puts Companies on Offensive: When news surfaced that Sony’s networks had been breached by hackers days before Thanksgiving, an internal corporate crisis quickly escalated into a media frenzy that shuttered theaters out of fear of further, less digital, attacks.

With federal officials slow to intervene, U.S. companies were quick to take note of the precarious security of their own computer systems. Businesses are now enlisting cybersecurity firms to learn hacking techniques of their own.

But do companies need permission from the federal government to conduct offensive operations? Weighing in is Nuala O’Connor, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing a free and open internet.