Today Nokia is only a shadow of its former glory. There was, however, the time that it had been a mobile phone might, which still did not protect it from falling prey to blackmailers. Backgrounds of the case have just been revealed by a Finnish television MTV station.
In the programme aired by MTV (similarities of names are purely coincidental) we were told about the events in 2007. Almost half of the smartphones sold back then came from Nokia, and promoted by them Symbian ruled absolutely. However, black clouds have already gathered over the company. It was not about, however, the launch of iPhone, but about a group of blackmailers who managed to crack the source code of Symbian.
Unknown subjects have stolen, among others, key encryptions to the system software that after getting into the wrong hands threatened a giant data leak. These keys are used by the manufacturer in its default applications, giving them access to sensitive data hidden in the phone. This cannot only be contacts, but also passwords or files. With the key, even a medium-experienced programmer could create a data stealing application. Nokia could not afford for it - what the blackmailers perfectly knew.
They have demanded from the Finnish an enormous ammount of euro in exchange for unpublished keys, which leak could lead to the collapse of the Symbian platform. The amount of money was not mentioned, but MTV mentioned a several millions of euros. The money was allegedly transferred, and the perpetrators - despite the efforts of the police - to this day remain unknown. And Symbian died without the help of cyber-terrorists – all it was needed was a several executives in expensive suits ;)
Source: Reuters
