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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2016 11 Sony Music has issued an apology after one of its Twitter accounts was hacked over the Holiday weekend, spreading hoax news that pop star Britney Spears is dead. The entertainment firm quickly removed the hoax tweets, saying its global account had been "compromised" but that the situation had "been rectified". Sony added it "apologises to Britney Spears and her fans for any confusion". The 35-year-old did not react directly to the tweet, but her manager confirmed the singer was "fine and well". Shortly after the initial hoax, another tweet was sent from the account blaming the fake news on a "new IP" address or another computer or device followed by the hashtag #OurMine, which Sony appears to be pointing to as the culprits of the attack. Both tweets have since been deleted. As well Sony's Twitter account, the official account of Bob Dylan also appears to have been hacked. It tweeted: "Rest in peace @ britneyspears" around the time of the fake Sony tweets. After the tweets were published, a group called OurMine appears to have gained access to the Sony Music account and pointed out the security breach. It is not clear whether it was also responsible for the original false messages. Just a few days ago, it appeared to have hacked into the Twitter accounts of Netflix US and Marvel Entertainment. And it has also been linked to compromising the Twitter accounts of top executives including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. While the latest incident is potentially embarrassing to Sony Music, it is not likely to have the same repercussions as another cyber-security breach that Sony suffered in 2014. That hack, which targeted Sony Pictures, resulted in unreleased films and the script for the next James Bond movie being leaked online. Details of corporate finances and private emails between producers and Hollywood figures were also released. North Korea was accused by the US of orchestrating the move and the eventual fallout saw Sony cancel the Christmas release of a comedy called The Interview, a film depicting the assassination of the North Korean leader. Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way ECB: Monte dei Paschi needs a further €8.8 billion injection Italian bank Monte dei Paschi is facing a capital shortfall of €8.8 billion, the European Central Bank said. This follows a €20 billion fund approved by the Italian government to prop up its embattled banking sector on 23 December. Monte dei Paschi had asked for a capital injection to stay afloat. It is carrying a mountain of bad loans made to customers who cannot afford to repay them. The ECB's calculation is based on the results of a 2016 stress test, the Italian bank said in a statement late Monday, citing two letters from the ECB that it received via Italy's Finance Ministry. While the ECB saw worsening liquidity at Monte Paschi between Nov. 30 and Dec. 21, it still considers the Italian bank to be solvent. The lender is seeking additional information on the central bank's calculations. Founded in 1472, Monte dei Paschi is said to be the oldest surviving bank in the world. It failed an EU stress test in July because of billions of euros of risky loans on its books, made to clients who cannot afford to repay them. The situation has worsened since then. On 21 December, the bank revealed that it could run out of funds by next April, using up nearly €11 billion. Previously, it had said it had enough funds to stay afloat for 11 months. Italy's market watchdog said last week the bank's shares and securities would be suspended from trading until the conditions of a state bailout became clear. On Friday, the Italian government said it will plow as much as €20 billion into Monte Paschi and other banks after the lender failed in its plan to raise about €5 billion from the market. Chief Executive Officer Marco Morelli had crisscrossed the globe looking for investors to back the bank's reorganization plan, which included a share sale, a debt-for- equity swap and the sale of €28 billion of soured loans. Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore yesterday reported that the Italian government will invest €6.3 billion in the bank, after the newspaper said Monday that the European Central Bank had called for a €4.5 billion contribution from the Italian state and €4.3 billion from bondholders. A government spokesman declined to comment on the matter. Monte Paschi's net one-month liquidity dropped to €7.7 billion from €12.1 billion during the 30 November - 21 December period, according to the bank's statement on the ECB letters. Ignazio Angeloni, a member of the ECB's Supervisory Board, told Italian daily La Stampa the central bank "will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the bank finds a sustainable business model." Asked if the €20 billion of funds approved by the government for Italian banks will be sufficient, Angeloni said the size of the intervention is based on the assumption that in some other cases a capital increase could be carried out on the market. "The ongoing problems in the Italian banking system do not affect all banks, but only a limited number of them," Angeloni told the newspaper. Sony issues apology after announcing Britney Spears' death Sorry, Britney Spears is not dead. Sony Music's Twitter account was just hacked