Symantec Beefs Up Enterprise Mobile Security Offerings

Symantec has announced that a series of upgrades to its mobile security line of business products that the company says will allow businesses to offer their employees secure mobile email, secure app initiatives and BYOD (bring your own device) programs.

The updates upgrades include the company’s new Symantec Mobile Security for Android software, which allows IT professionals to scan protect Android smartphones and tablets deployed on corporate networks for app and Internet related threats. The company also announced that it has renamed the Odyssey Athena software, which it obtained through it’s acquisition of Odyssey Software, the Symantec Mobile Management for Configuration Manager.

In terms of updates, Symantec says they have added, NitroDesk TouchDown, a secure email client for Android devices to their Mobile Management software, as well as support for Windows Phone 7 devices.

On the iOS front, Symantec says its Nukona App Center now allows IT managers to secure apps and data on iOS devices with FIPS 140-2 certified encryption, giving iPhone and iPad users the ability to use their devices in sensitive business environments such as government agencies and healthcare and financial industries.

What does all of this mean? Essentially, it indicates that the BYOD trend is alive and well, and, one would assume, the demand for such capabilities is growing.

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Hacker Holds Symantec Source Code For Ransom, Then Posts it to Web

Extortion turns into sting

“We will pay you $50,000.00 USD total,” Thomas told YamaTough on Feb. 1. “However, we need assurances that you are not going to release the code after payment. We will pay you $2,500 a month for the first three months. Payments start next week. After the first three months you have to convince us you have destroyed the code before we pay the balance. We are trusting you to keep your end of the bargain.”

Thomas, despite the Symantec email address that he began the conversation with (he later switched to a Gmail account), was not a Symantec employee, and the $50,000 was bait to reel in YamaTough and any accomplices, according to a Symantec spokesman.

“The email string posted by Anonymous was actually between them and a fake e-mail address set up by law enforcement,” Cris Paden, Symantec’s senior corporate communications manager, told SecurityNewsDaily.

(Paden consistently refers to YamaTough as “Anonymous.” While the hacker has been getting encouragement on Twitter from prominent Anonymous members, there is no independent evidence that he has been actively working with them.)

“Anonymous actually reached out to us first, saying that if we provided them with money, they would not post any more source code,” Paden said. “At that point, given that it was a clear-cut case of extortion, we contacted law enforcement and turned the investigation over to them.”

“All subsequent communications were actually between Anonymous and law enforcement agents — not Symantec,” Paden added.

YamaTough gets frustrated

Those heated emails show YamaTough, using a Venezuelan email address, becoming increasingly frustrated with Symantec’s excuses for why the company couldn’t immediately honor his deadlines.

“If we don’t hear from you in 30m we make an official announcement and put your code on sale at auction terms,” YamaTough wrote on Jan. 25. “We have many people who are willing to get your code. Don’t [mess] with us.”

On Jan. 30, Thomas asked YamaTough to “be patient” and said, “We are really trying to work with you but we can’t meet all the deadlines that you keep throwing at us.” YamaTough replied, “You have 24 hours for a definite answer.”

Late last night (Feb. 6), the law-enforcement sting ran into a wall. YamaTough wrote, “There is no time, yes or no, pcAnywhere is ready to be distributed, 10 min.”

Shortly afterwards, a link to the pcAnywhere source code appeared on the file-sharing site The Pirate Bay. Paden confirmed that it is, in fact, the actual code.

Source code hits the Web, Symantec is ready

“We can confirm that the source code is legitimate,” Paden said. “It is part of the original cache of code for 2006 versions of the products that Anonymous has claimed to have been in possession during the last few weeks.”

Symantec, Paden added, had a contingency plan ready.

“Symantec was prepared for the code to be posted at some point, and has developed and distributed a series of patches since Jan. 23rd to protect our users against attacks that might transpire as a result of the anti-virus code being made public,” Paden told SecurityNewsDaily.

He said Symantec has reached out to its customers in the past few weeks, urging them to install version 12.5 of pcAnywhere to reduce the risk of their systems becoming compromised in the wake of the leak.

The pcAnywhere leak may just be the first drop in a coming flood, Paden said.

“We also anticipate Anonymous to post the rest of the code they have claimed [they] have in their possession,” he said. “So far, they have posted code for the 2006 version of Norton Internet Security and pcAnywhere. We also anticipate that at some point, they will post the code for Norton AntivirusCorporate Edition and Norton Systemworks. Both products no longer exist.”

Article provided by SecurityNewsDaily, a sister site to Laptopmag.com.

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Symantec Clears pcAnywhere for Use

Symantec has retracted its don't-use-pcAnywhere recommendation to owners of the remote access software.

Last week, the company took the highly unusual step of telling pcAnywhere users to disable the program based on a 2006 source code leak and this month's claims by members of Anonymous that they were mining the stolen code for vulnerabilities.

Symantec spokesman Brian Modena declined to declare the now-patched pcAnywhere as safe to use when asked that question multiple times, but hinted that the fixes the company has released were sufficient.

"At this time, Symantec recommends that customers ensure pcAnywhere 12.5 is installed, apply all relevant patches as they are released, and follow general security best practices," Modena said in a pair of emailed responses to questions about the software's safety. (See also "Top 10 Internet Security Suites.")

Modena's comment was identical to the phrasing Symantec posted on its website late on Friday.

Symantec wrapped up patching pcAnywhere 12.5 on January 27, then updated versions 12.0 and 12.1 with more fixes yesterday.

Last week, Symantec said it was unable to predict when it would complete its patching of pcAnywhere, citing the unpredictability of its investigation and the creation of the necessary fixes.

The updates can be manually downloaded from Symantec's website , or customers can use pcAnywhere's built-in updating service to retrieve and install the patches.

Modena also confirmed that customers running versions of pcAnywhere prior to version 12.0 will be offered a free upgrade to 12.5.

"If requested, Symantec will honor an update to version 12.5 for customers using previous versions of the product," said Modena today. To ask for a free upgrade, users should send the company an email aimed at the pcanywhere@symantec.com address.

The 2006 source code breach -- which Symantec traced to an attack on its own network -- also revealed the underpinnings of other products, including Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition, Norton Internet Security, Norton Utilities and Norton GoBack, and Symantec AntiVirus 10.2.

Customers running those products, however, are not in any danger, Symantec has said, noting that the leak of Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition amounted to "less than 5 percent" of the product's source code, and that the code for the other titles was "so old that current out-of-the-box security settings will suffice against any possible threats that might materialize."

Symantec has also said it has not seen any real-world attacks that exploited the exposed vulnerabilities in pcAnywhere.

At least one rival has used Symantec's embarrassment to pitch its own product as a pcAnywhere replacement.

Today, Laplink Software announced it was cutting special deals for pcAnywhere owners willing to switch to its Laplink Gold: The Bellevue, Washington-based company is selling a single license to its own remote access program for $44.95, half the usual $89.95 price.

Laplink has also slashed prices of its five- and 10-license packs by 50 percent.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer , on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

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