This article says Sony knew of its extensive IT flaws two months ahead of time. I guess they didn't learn their lesson from the massive PSN hack in 2011.
Earlier this year, Sony Pictures released one hell of an internal IT assessment. The report showed that not only was the company ignoring basic security protocol, its IT security was plagued with unmonitored devices, miscommunication, and a lack of accountability. It's dated Sept 25th, almost two months to the day before hackers exposed thousands of the company's most sensitive documents.