Hackers fail to extort $50,000 from Symantec, as pcAnywhere source code is published

Symantec has confirmed that a file made available on the internet for anyone to download, does contain the source code for an old version of its pcAnywhere product.

For a short while last month, before releasing a patch, Symantec advised customers to disable their pcAnywhere installations because of concern that hackers could exploit vulnerabilities.

In addition, the firm says that in January someone claiming to be the hacker responsible for the data theft tried to extort $50,000 from the firm in exchange for not releasing Symantec’s stolen source code.

Yama Tough, of the Anonymous-affiliated Lords of Dharmaraja hacking gang, posted what he claims was a chain of emails sent between himself and Symantec employee “Sam Thomas” negotiating the payment.

Symantec…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.