Nokia paid millions to blackmailer to prevent encryption key leakage

Nokia paid millions of euros in 2007 to prevent blackmailers from making the encryption key of an important part of Symbian public. The case is still under investigation, Finnish authorities confirm.

The criminals had obtained the encryption key for Symbian: a file of only a few kilobytes according to MTV Finland, which was used to authenticate software for the OS. For example, if the key had been released, malware authors could have developed malicious software that would accept Symbian as approved code. Nokia would have decided to pay at the end of 2007, early 2008, because of the enormous market share at the time: roughly half of all telephones worldwide were then a Nokia.

The group also went to the police before handing over the money, in the hope that the criminals would be arrested. The money, reportedly millions of euros, was indeed transferred in a parking lot in Tampere, Finland, but the perpetrators managed to escape. The case is still unsolved almost seven years later.

Finnish authorities have confirmed to Reuters and MTV Finland that an investigation into the blackmail is ongoing. Nokia itself declined to comment.