Russian Hacker Has Skype Fuming

A Russian hacker has reverse-engineered part of Skype's code and posted the results on the internet. His aim: to make Skype open source. Presumably, he forgot that Skype isn't his to make anything and, understandably, Skype are more than a little mad. Efim Bushmanov describes himself as a “freelance researcher”, although that is kind of like calling a shop-lifter a “freelance gatherer”. He's based in the Komi Republic, a tiny republic 870 miles from Moscow and he said that, as well as making Skype open source, he want to find "friends who can spend many hours for completely reverse it" in order to finish the job. Skype are making all of the right noises about ensuring their customer's safety and security, and there are rumblings that legal action will be taken against Bushmanov and anybody else that uses the code. From Skype's end, it's all very ‘to the script'. Perhaps the most startling thing about the whole story, though, is the gumption of Bushmanov. He's not hiding out at his Russian home, using a nerdy moniker and keeping quiet. Rather, he's very publically stating what his aims and objectives are, who he is and where he is. He's practically issuing a “come and get me” call to Skype. He's obviously not stupid. To be able to achieve what he has requires a sharp intellect. Rather, it seems like a sure bet that he's simply desperate for attention. “I become famous,” he said on his Google blog when posting links to interviews. Infamous, as well as unhirable, is closer to the truth.