Skype to Improve Business Services

December 28th, 2006: The popular VoIP software provider Skype is set to increase its focus on business users, with the bourgeoning telco looking to third parties to help it mould the next version of its software to the needs of enterprises.

The latest Skype release, 3.0, enables administrators to control the software across a network and the company wants to build on this via a network of contributors. Some of these new enterprise features include server-allocated talk time and usage policies and specific port allocation to stop unauthorised firewall breeches.

According to Kurt Sauer, Skype’s Chief Security Officer, this is where its envisioned third party "ecosystem" will come in. "My opinion is that it is better to provide good information and let other people build the Skype ecosystem," said Sauer in a statement, indicating that third parties are more suited to adapting and integrating Skype for enterprises.

An increased focus on business users is a welcome addition to the software, and while version 3.0 curtails some of the problems the software poses network administrators, as Skype continues to increase its position in the VoIP world, more needs to be done to appease security concerns.

A good example of these concerns appeared last week in the form of piece of malware that used Skype’s instant messaging capabilities to spread itself.

“We have done reverse engineering on this so-called worm, and it is not a worm, but a real piece of malware, using Skype to send an instant message to users which contains a Web URL that allows the download of other malware that was apparently targeted at Pay Pal,” said Sauer.

VoIP is shaping up to be both a major benefit and major security headache for businesses. Thankfully, with version 3.0 Skype is on the right track to address concerns that arise from this new frontier of communications.

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