14-Nov-2012 15:40

Security flaw exposed on Skype password reset tool

Skype has shut down its password reset tool after a nasty security hole was found allowing hackers to access user accounts just with an email address.

The flaw was first posted on a Russian forum about 8 weeks ago explaining that any of the applications over 600 million users could be hacked using the email address tied to their Skype account.

Until Skype’s reaction the hacker would then be able to lock the original user out of their account by resetting their password.

Microsoft, the company that owns the software application, has released a statement saying, "We have had reports of a new security vulnerability issue. As a precautionary step we have temporarily disabled password reset as we continue to investigate the issue further. We apologise for the inconvenience but user experience and safety is our first priority."

This is not the first time that holes in Skype’s security have been exposed. Earlier this year a flaw was revealed that allowed hackers to lookup anyone’s IP address and thus discover the city or country in which they are using the service.

As we have warned previously… be careful out there people!