A Yandex source code repository allegedly stolen by a former employee of the Russian technology company has been leaked as a Torrent on a popular hacking forum.

In a statement to BleepingComputer, Yandex said their systems were not hacked, and a former employee leaked the source code repository.

“Repositories are needed to work with code and are not intended for the storage of personal user data. We are conducting an internal investigation into the reasons for the release of source code fragments to the public, but we do not see any threat to user data or platform performance.” – Yandex.

Bakunov explained that the motive of the data leak was political, and the rogue Yandex employee responsible for the data leak had not tried to sell the code to competitors.

The former senior executive added that the leak does not contain any customer data, so it does not constitute a direct risk to the privacy or security of Yandex users, nor does it directly threaten to leak proprietary technology.

The former executive also commented on Yandex’s response, saying that the leaked code may not be identical to the current code used in the firm’s working services but might be up to 90% similar.