Anonymous hacks security firm Symantec's source code, demands $50,000 payment

Online security firm Symantec may be in the business of protecting consumer and business data, but the company recently experienced a breach of its own at the hands of the hacking group known as Anonymous.

The group demanded the company pay $50,000 to retrieve the software source code it obtained during the incident. One of the hackers, known as YamaTough and supposedly based in Mumbai, India, told Reuters that negotiations between the parties began on January 18.

The hacker also told the news source that Anonymous tricked Symantec into paying them to "humiliate" the company.

"We can't pay you $50,000 at once for the reasons we discussed previously," said an email from Symantec employee Sam Thomas to Anonymous. "In exchange, you will make a public statement on behalf of your group that you lied about the hack."

Anonymous has been causing a stir recently and even accessed a private conversation between the FBI and Scotland Yard. The group published a video of the 15-minute exchange and the FBI said the content was obtained illegally and that an investigation is currently under way.