quote:I would bet even money that we are retaliating and it will be non-attributable to the US (and not made public).
to build on that point:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/us-links-north-korea-to-sony-hacking.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&_r=0
quote:so yeah, let's retaliate
It is not clear how the United States determined that Mr. Kim's government had played a central role in the Sony attacks. North Korea's computer network has been notoriously difficult to infiltrate. But the National Security Agency began a major effort four years ago to penetrate the country's computer operations, including its elite cyberteam, and to establish "implants" in the country's networks that, like a radar system, would monitor the development of malware transmitted from the country.
It is hardly a foolproof system. Much of North Korea's hacking is done from China. And while the attack on Sony used some commonly available cybertools, one intelligence official said, "this was of a sophistication that a year ago we would have said was beyond the North's capabilities."
That's how we normally role when it comes to cyber ops. China is good at cyber ops but they aren't as stealthy as the US is.
There will likely be some diplomatic hemming and hawing but the real action will betaking place behind closed doors in a way that can't be pinned on the US.