Security software maker Symantec confirmed to the press that the group of hackers that obtained source code of its pcAnywhere software were holding it to ransom. The group claims to be linked to Anonymous. The group allegedly demanded US $50,000 from Symantec in return for destroying the source code it stole, on failing to pay it, the group threatened it would leak the source code to the public, which would expose the software to malware writers and competitors.

Symantec has apparently been in negotiations with the hacker group over preventing the leak, it even agreed to pay the group its "ransom", provided it could do so in monthly installments. The group declined, and the negotiations fell through. A transcript of this email conversation was posted on Pastebin (can be accessed here). The hackers claimed to have posted the source code of pcAnywhere (in a 2.3 GB RAR archive), on a popular bit-torrent site. In our opinion, extorting money is very un-Anonymous. Anonymous, being the self-proclaimed hacktivist group that it is, would post the source code "just for the lulz", without even getting into negotiations with Symantec.