Skype Protocol Reverse Engineered By Chinese Firm

In major news which has emerged from a well known blogger in the field of VoIP it seems Skype’s protocol, the heart of its VoIP empire has been reverse engineered by a Chinese company. The post goes onto say : The team that worked on this project had to be able to look through Skype’s database of users, find client profiles, negotiate call sessions and even link up through Skype’s encryption. Initial testing indicated that while the program worked, it was still in development stages. Calls had “noticeable echo” and call quality fluctuated from decent to good. At the moment, instant messaging to Skype users is not available but the company spokesperson said that a public release will be ready by August of this year. The company hopes to introduce a fully-compatible Skype alternative. While this was bound to happen sooner or later this does not bode well for Skype users. One of the reasons Skype has been popular was its encryption and its voice quality. With their jewel in the crown having been compromised it might lead to unscrupulous people coming up with ways to monitor your conversations. For a more detailed read on legal and moral implications head on over to this post.