Symantec later traced source-code segments released in 2012 to a theft in 2006—but the company said it did not establish that code had been taken until it investigated hackers’ claims six years later. The exposed-product list covered several older Norton products and pcAnywhere, while the files publicly reported as released included Norton Utilities 2006 and pcAnywhere. Symantec assessed the risk differently for pcAnywhere and its antivirus products.
How Symantec connected the 2006 incident to source-code theft
In January 2012, the Lords of Dharmaraja claimed they possessed Symantec source code. Symantec then reviewed logs and other records and connected the claim to an incident from 2006. Spokesperson Cris Paden told WIRED that Symantec had known about an incident in 2006, but at the time it was inconclusive whether actual source code had been taken. The theft was therefore dated to 2006 retrospectively, not confirmed as a source-code loss when the incident first occurred. WIRED’s January 26, 2012 report describes the company’s account.
Symantec said the code had been accessed through a third party rather than its own network. The reviewed accounts do not identify that third party or establish who carried out the original theft. WIRED also reported that Symantec did not know whether the 2012 claimants obtained the code directly from the 2006 incident or from someone else.
Which products were affected—and what was publicly released?
Symantec’s later account named 2006-era versions of several products. That list describes code the company said was exposed; it does not mean that complete codebases for every product were publicly posted.
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| Product or group | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition and Norton Internet Security | Symantec included 2006-era versions in the exposed-code list. Its 2012 report described publicly released segments for 2006 Norton Antivirus versions. Symantec’s 2012 Corporate Responsibility Report |
| Norton SystemWorks, including Norton Utilities and Norton GoBack | Symantec included 2006-era versions in the exposed-code list. Contemporaneous reporting identified Norton Utilities 2006 code among the files released in January. PCWorld’s September 2012 report |
| pcAnywhere | Symantec included 2006-era code in the exposed-code list. Reporting described a later public posting of pcAnywhere code, which Symantec said came from the original cache. CBS News’ 2012 report |
The evidence describes released portions or segments, not verified complete source trees for all the listed products. A separate document posted in January 2012 should not be confused with those source-code releases: Symantec said it dated to April 1999, described API procedures and function names, and contained no actual source code. Symantec’s contemporaneous statement distinguished that document from source code.
In September 2012, Symantec assessed Norton Utilities 2006 code posted then as the same code released in January, rather than a new leak, according to PCWorld.
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Why pcAnywhere received a different response
Symantec said the old antivirus and endpoint-security code was a small subset of the complete code and did not increase risk for those customers. Its assessment was different for pcAnywhere: the company acknowledged increased cyberattack risk, contacted customers, and advised users to stop using the product temporarily until patches and an updated version were available. These are Symantec’s stated risk assessments, not independent findings about every possible use of the code.
Symantec said it released patches for known vulnerabilities affecting pcAnywhere 12.5 on January 23, 2012, followed by patches for versions 12.0 and 12.1 on January 27. The company’s 2012 report describes the advice and response; CBS News reported on the public release and patches.
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What Symantec said about customer information
Symantec reported that it had no indication customer information was impacted or exposed. That is the company’s finding as reported in its 2012 Corporate Responsibility Report; it should not be read as independent proof that customer data could never have been accessed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the incident shows about source-code protection
In a later paper, Symantec described measures introduced in its subsequent source-code protection work, including repository consolidation, layered security, monitoring source-code movement, and staff procedures. The paper says consolidation into duplicate environments in Arizona and Virginia was completed in summer 2015. Those controls describe the company’s later response and do not establish exactly how the 2006 theft occurred. Symantec’s retrospective paper also characterizes the episode as a source-code segment stolen in 2006 and released by hackers in 2012.
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