CYBERCRIME

Hacker Releases Software Code

Tries to extort Symantec for $50,000.

A hacker calling himself YamaTough published the source code for security company Symantec's pcAnywhere technology, which allows users to access their computers remotely. The release followed email negotiations in which the hacker, part of a group called Lords of Dharmaraja and affiliated with Anonymous, promised to destroy the code in exchange for $50,000. The hacker, however, says he never intended to take the money, only to humiliate Symantec by releasing the negotiations. Symantec, for its part, says it was law-enforcement officials doing the negotiations in an attempt to track the hacker. Symantec says it expects the hackers to release the code for 2006 versions of Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition and Norton Internet Security, but says those codes are outdated.