Another file -- the Skype binary that the user is prompted to accept -- accesses the VoIP application, then harvests any online Skype contacts and transmits those names to a remote server.
Although Skype is best known as a telephone-style service, it uses an instant messaging-like contact list for easier calling, and includes a chat function for text messaging. The Trojan, in fact, is applying the same attack techniques commonly used in instant messaging attacks.
The servers the attacker used to download malicious code to infected computers are now down, Hubbard confirms.
"The one thing that's unusual here is its use of a public API," says Hubbard. The two-part API allows Skype to connect to USB devices, such as VoIP phones, and lets third-party applications access some of Skype's functions, such as making a call.
"This is either spreading very slowly, and only regionally, or it's dead by now," Hubbard says.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
