Snapchat has ended up as an unintended victim of the data leaks that have occurred after the crippling cyber-attack on Sony Pictures. While the Guardians of Peace have not directly gone after the ephemeral messaging app developer, its ties to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton has exposed many trade secrets that the company had wanted to keep quiet.
The Snapchat information was released as part of a data dump of Lynton’s private email. Lynton, who is also on the board of directors of Snapchat, is seen discussing corporate strategy, financial details, hiring plans, and even future products. Unknown acquisitions by the developer also came to light as the public learned of Snapchat buying over a smartglasses firm for US$15 million, and a QR scanning firm for US$50 million. It also revealed potential plans for bringing a music streaming service to Snapchat.
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Evan Spiegel, Snapchat CEO and co-founder, responded to the leaks in a personal letter to his organisation; a letter that he also shared on Twitter. In it, he outlined the feelings of frustration and anger at all their hard work being exposed to the world; especially when they need the privacy to keep secrets to work on their projects.
It looks like the damage from the cyber-attack will no longer simply be confined to just Sony Pictures and with more information to be released, it is unknown which other companies and individuals may end up dragged into the mess.
