CYBERSPACE – Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better than free telephone calls using voice-over-internet-protocol technology…. A Swiss software developer has released the source code for a trojan that allows anyone to eavesdrop on and record in MP3 format any phone call made via Skype’s VoIP service.Ruben Unteregger, who developed the “Peskyspy” bug while employed by German customized software developer ERA IT Solutions, said he made the code public in order to make users aware of dark forces at work on the Web and to spur security development. The trojan can capture not only standard Skype calls, but encrypted conversations, as well.

A blog posting on Unteregger’s site, Megapanzer.com, notes, “The code is simple and straightforward. You have [to] know malware development is no rocket science, and if you expect big magic you are at the wrong place. The backdoor receives instructions from the dropzone and transfers audio files. The Skype-Tap intercepts the Skype function calls, extracts and dumps audio data to files, converts it to the MP3 format and encrypts it.”

Thankfully, the bug is not in a “snag-and-employ” format.

“The code is not 100-percent complete,” Unteregger continues on the blog. “I removed the plugin system in the backdor and also the firewall bypassing system is not there anymore. I will publish both of them in separate tools later. If you don’t like this … well, I can’t help you. That’s how it is. Take it or leave it.”

However, anti-virus firm Symantec said even incomplete the code represents a threat: The availability of just the guts of a trojan can spur development of other malware. Anti-virus firm F-Secure said Peskyspy’s backdoor functionality remains intact.

Of more interest to many cybercitizens, however, is that Unteregger’s trojan appears to confirm the validity of some longstanding rumors: Documents leaked some time ago indicated the Bavarian government commissioned the development of similar electronic snooping software. Law enforcement agencies across Europe and in the U.S. have pushed for legislation legalizing VoIP wiretapping, particularly in the case of Skype users. Skype’s encrypted service is viewed almost across the board as a significant impediment to criminal and terrorism investigations, and officials want permission to plant bugs on suspects’ computers.

Now they may have the bug part of the equation, at least.