Consumers File Class Action for Defective AntiVirus Software

Schubert Law Firm Investigating Claims Against Security Software Company Concerning Vulnerabilities in Network Security Software Products

Consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Symantec Corporation, alleging that from 2005 to 2016, the security software company sold antivirus products containing serious defects that exposed entire computer operating systems to various security vulnerabilities and made them more susceptible to cyberattacks. Contact us below to learn more about your legal rights.

The lawsuit, filed on April 2, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that consumers who purchased Symantec’s security products under the Norton brand, as well as businesses that purchased products under the Symantec brand, suffered from exposure to memory corruption, remote attacks, and other easily exploitable security vulnerabilities. Symantec only released patches for these defects in June 2016, with the help of Project Zero, a team of expert cybersecurity analysts who first discovered the critical defects in the core engine that supported Symantec’s entire product line.

According to the lawsuit, Symantec had failed to patch third-party source code in its products over a several-year period spanning at least seven years. This was contrary to cybersecurity best practices, which require timely implementation of security updates to software. In addition, Symantec failed to design its products to limit the impact of a vulnerability on a computer’s operating system by violating the basic principle of least privilege, another fundamental cybersecurity best practice. It was not until 2017 that Symantec updated its product line to comply with the principle of least privilege by including a sandbox that directs the core engine to run and analyze unknown files in an isolated, protected environment. As cybersecurity experts have noted, “[t]hese vulnerabilities [we]re as bad as it gets.”

If you purchased a Norton or Symantec brand security product between 2005 and 2016, you may be entitled to a refund of the purchase price. If you think you were affected by these antivirus software defects and would like to help us investigate these issues—or would like to potentially participate in the class-action lawsuit—please complete the form below for a free legal consultation.