[IP] comments welcomed Ban corporate Skype usage immediately, says Info-Tech Research Group
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 13, 2005 6:20:17 AM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Ban corporate Skype usage immediately, says
Info-Tech Research Group
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Press Release
Source: Info-Tech Research Group
Ban corporate Skype usage immediately, says Info-Tech Research Group
Thursday November 10, 10:22 am ET
<http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051110/to217.html?.v=15>
LONDON, ON, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ - Technology industry analyst firm
Info- Tech Research Group (www.infotech.com) is telling enterprises
to ban Skype - the freely-available Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) phone service - from their organizations.
"Companies that are already banning peer-to-peer applications, such
as instant messaging, should add Skype to its list of unsanctioned
software programs," says Info-Tech analyst Ross Armstrong.
"Approximately 17 million registered Skype users are using the
service for business purposes," says Armstrong. "Unless an
organization specifies instances where Skype use is acceptable, and
outlines rules for client-side Skype settings, that's 17 million
opportunities for a hacker to invade a corporate network."
In a research note prepared for Info-Tech Research Group members,
Armstrong outlines five reasons for an enterprise to ban Skype:
- Skype is not standards-compliant, allowing it and any
vulnerability to
pass through corporate firewalls.
- Skype's encryption is closed source and prone to man-in-the-
middle
attacks. There are also some unanswered questions about how
well the
keys are managed.
- Enterprises using Skype risk a communication barrier with
countries
and institutions that have already banned the service.
- Skype is undetectable, untraceable, and unauditable, putting
organizations that are subject to compliance laws at risk.
- The question of whether VoIP calls constitute a business
record is a
legal quagmire. Throwing Skype into the communications mix
further
clouds the issue.
Comments Armstrong, "The bottom line is that even a mediocre hacker
could take advantage of a Skype vulnerability. If you are going to
use Skype within enterprise, manage it as you would any other IT
service: with policy and diligence."
About Info-Tech Research Group
With a paid membership of over 25,000 clients worldwide, Info-Tech
Research Group is the global leader in providing information
technology research and analysis to the mid-sized enterprise market.
It is North America's fastest growing full-service IT analyst firm.
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
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