Hackers steal Symantec source code

Stefan Mileschin · 6th January 2012, 12:02

Symantec is really regretting allowing the Indian government covert or overt access to its source code.

According to SecurityWeek, a team of hackers have accessed source code related to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 and Symantec Antivirus 10.2 sitting on the Indian mililtary intelligence servers.

It is not clear how James Patel of the Indian Secret Service got his paws on the source code, and it looks like they may have even handed the code over for testing before being given a lucrative government contract.

The hacker group, operating under the name Dharmaraja, said that within the Indian Spy Programme are the source codes of a dozen software companies which have signed agreements with the Indian TANCS programme and CBI.

The hackers have shown a document dated April 28, 1999, that Symantec describes as defining the application programming interface for the virus Definition Generation Service.

Cris Paden, senior manager of corporate communication for Symantec, told SecurityWeek that while this explains how the software is designed to work and contains function names, there is no actual source code present.

However, a second post entitled 'Norton AV source code file list' includes a list of file names reputedly contained within Norton AntiVirus source code package and Symantec said it was still in the process of analysing the data, but it looks like the source code has been pinched.

Rob Rachwald, Director of Security Strategy at Imperva said that there was not much hackers can learn from the code.

Most of the anti-virus product is based on attack signatures, and malware authors continuously write malware to evade signature detection, he said. Hackers could use the source code to search out and exploit vulnerabilities in the software itself but this would be a little trickier.

Competition in the cut-throat security industry would love to have the Symantec source code, SecurityWeek said. .

http://news.techeye.net/security/hac...ec-source-code

jmke · 6th January 2012, 16:57

We received an official response from Symantec regarding this stolen code:

Quote:

“Symantec can confirm that a segment of its source code used in two of our older enterprise products has been accessed, one of which has been discontinued. The code involved is four and five years old. This does not affect Symantec’s Norton products for our consumer customers. Symantec’s own network was not breached, but rather that of a third party entity. We are still gathering information on the details and are not in a position to provide specifics on the third party involved. Presently, we have no indication that the code disclosure impacts the functionality or security of Symantec’s solutions. Furthermore, there are no indications that customer information has been impacted or exposed at this time. However, Symantec is working to develop remediation process to ensure long-term protection for our customers’ information. We will communicate that process once the steps have been finalized. Given the early stages of the investigation, we have no further details to disclose at this time but will provide updates as we confirm additional facts

6th January 2012, 12:02	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 148,500	Hackers steal Symantec source code Symantec is really regretting allowing the Indian government covert or overt access to its source code. According to SecurityWeek, a team of hackers have accessed source code related to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 and Symantec Antivirus 10.2 sitting on the Indian mililtary intelligence servers. It is not clear how James Patel of the Indian Secret Service got his paws on the source code, and it looks like they may have even handed the code over for testing before being given a lucrative government contract. The hacker group, operating under the name Dharmaraja, said that within the Indian Spy Programme are the source codes of a dozen software companies which have signed agreements with the Indian TANCS programme and CBI. The hackers have shown a document dated April 28, 1999, that Symantec describes as defining the application programming interface for the virus Definition Generation Service. Cris Paden, senior manager of corporate communication for Symantec, told SecurityWeek that while this explains how the software is designed to work and contains function names, there is no actual source code present. However, a second post entitled 'Norton AV source code file list' includes a list of file names reputedly contained within Norton AntiVirus source code package and Symantec said it was still in the process of analysing the data, but it looks like the source code has been pinched. Rob Rachwald, Director of Security Strategy at Imperva said that there was not much hackers can learn from the code. Most of the anti-virus product is based on attack signatures, and malware authors continuously write malware to evade signature detection, he said. Hackers could use the source code to search out and exploit vulnerabilities in the software itself but this would be a little trickier. Competition in the cut-throat security industry would love to have the Symantec source code, SecurityWeek said. . http://news.techeye.net/security/hac...ec-source-code

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Defcon 18 Pwned By the owner What happens when you steal a hackers computer	jmke	WebNews	0	2nd January 2011 19:57
Eve Online Source Code Leaked	jmke	WebNews	0	15th April 2008 17:26
DeviceVM releases source code for Asus P5E3 Deluxe WiFi-AP	jmke	WebNews	0	22nd November 2007 12:53
If You're Going To Steal Software, Steal From Us: Microsoft Exec	jmke	WebNews	0	13th March 2007 10:54
AMD, Gigabyte Release Source-Code for Mainboard’s BIOS	jmke	WebNews	0	23rd February 2007 23:15
Source code demand saves drunken drivers	jmke	WebNews	0	10th March 2006 12:24
Quake III Source Code to Be Released	jmke	WebNews	0	13th August 2005 16:27
Hackers Steal Revenge of the Sith, Demand Ransom	jmke	WebNews	4	27th August 2004 18:14
Windows 2000 & Windows NT 4 Source Code Leaks	187(V)URD@	WebNews	2	12th February 2004 23:19