• Reuters, Friday, January 27, 2006 10:30 AM

Internet calling applications like Skype could provide "an ideal disguise" for hacker attacks, says new research from Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Thus far, no attacks have been recognized, but researchers warn that it's "only a matter of time before the technique becomes mainstream." The most obvious danger is that Voice over Internet Protocol programs could provide excellent cover for hackers to infiltrate computers and turn them into so-called "zombies," bombarding Web sites with repeated page requests or e-mails. When several computers request the same information repeatedly from the same servers, it brings the network to a standstill in what's called a denial of service attack. VoIP cuts a voice conversation into digital bits and hackers can use those data streams for cover, the research said. Skype, which did not comment on the research, is the most popular VoIP provider around the world, downloaded on some 242 million computers.

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