Russian Reverse Engineer Praises Skype
Good products can’t stay proprietary for long, says Efim Bushmanov, the Russian who published an open source version of Skype’s protocol
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Skype is accusing me of preparing “malicious activities like spamming/phishing.” They are sensitive about spam. It is the main problem of instant messaging platforms. But I haven’t done anything related to spamming or phishing via Skype.
The funny thing is that reverse engineering doesn’t violate any Russian laws. Regarding spam, there is a rarely invoked law against it. But Russian ISPs and hosting services are really tough on spammers. Their zero tolerance approach to spam is in some ways more strict than in the West.
Still, I am aware that there may be consequences for my actions. Nothing is without risk. But if something happens to me, now anyone can complete my work with the files and the tools I have made available. No more encryption and obfuscation!
What will Microsoft do about this?
Regarding Microsoft – which has very few friends in Russia – someone from Sophos wrote that Microsoft might find some kind of commercial or trade advantage in an open source version of Skype. I doubt there will be any cooperation on the part of Microsoft, but we’ll see. After all, they couldn’t prevent Samba from becoming compatible with Windows in spite of all their constraints! The same thing could happen with Skype, so Microsoft, I hope, will stay neutral.
What is you vision of a future? Do you envision an open source VoIP application similar to Skype?
There is still so much to do! Probably a third-party client for Skype will appear in a couple of years, supported by at least one VoIP codec, for example Silk, the source code of which Skype has already published.
But I think it will remain a game for geeks rather than any real threat to Skype’s business. However, we all known that Microsoft is at war with [open-source telephony software] Asterisk. They have cut connections between Skype and Asterisk. So, if this work which I have set loose should ever reach a really mature stage and achieve a degree of competitive quality, Asterisk and other open source initiatives will have a real alternative.
Tens of thousands of people have already downloaded Skype’s code. One day, professionals will complete the job with the programming for voice. Then someone will complete the video. We’ll have fun when the first video spam appears (laughs).
Many fear spam, but what we do is just technology. How people use technology, for good or bad, must remain a decision for each individual.
If Microsoft or Skype offered you a job, would you work for them?
It all depends on what kind of work they wanted me to do and the contract. I am open to offers. Anyway, my research has already been made available. The files have been set loose into the world and anyone with a mind for it can continue building this open source version of Skype.
This interview was conducted by Adrien Henni and Alexander Ivanov of East-West Digital News.
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