One-third of Skype's 53 million registered users are using the popular VoIP service for business purposes. An enterprise that has already banned peer-to-peer (P2P) applications, such as instant messaging (IM), should add Skype to its list of unsanctioned software programs.
Why Ban Skype?
Since it was released in 2003, the freely available IP telephony program has been downloaded over 151 million times. Since Skype usage is growing rapidly both in and out of the enterprise, IT professionals must think about security from the outset. The reasons for banning Skype are nearly identical to those cited for banning IM:
- Too firewall-friendly. Skype's proprietary closed-source VoIP protocol - which does not employ accepted VoIP standards like H.323 and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) - allows it to traverse corporate firewalls and symmetric NATs. An unknown and unsanctioned VoIP protocol freely...
