Freelance researcher Efim Bushmanov from Russia reportedly cracked-open the Skype protocol by reverse engineering and made the source code public.

The source code posted by Bushmanov encompasses Skype versions 1. x, 3. x, and 4. x along with details of the rc4 layer arithmetic encoding the service uses.

However, the researcher admitted that the reverse engineering of Skype was still incomplete, and that he was in search of friends who would help him in complete the task.

On the other hand, popular video chat utility Skype has accused the Russian researcher of breaching its intellectual property.

Speaking on the issue, Skype said, "This unauthorized use of our application for malicious activities like spamming/phishing infringes on Skype's intellectual property.”

The company said it was taking all required steps to beat Bushmanov’s nefarious attempts to threaten Skype's experience.