The prospect is giving the music and film industries, police and repressive governments nightmares, reported the BBC online. The software uses encryption and file sharing between users' computers to avoid the limits corporations and governments are trying to place on Web users. The hacking collective known as the Cult of the Dead Cow plans to release Peekabooty in July, at this year's DefCon hacker conference in Las Vegas. The group said they were developing Peekabooty for people living under restrictive regimes who wanted to see information they would otherwise be denied. The network has no central server, instead it uses all the machines in the system to hold data.
Members can ask for documents or files to be put on to the network.
When they appear, Peekabooty will package, encrypt and ship them to the machine requesting them. If the browser is used by large numbers of people, it could make a mockery of moves to monitor electronic communications. The Cult of the Dead Cow styles itself as a group of 'ethical' hackers that uses technology to beat attempts to restrict information and embarrass companies with shoddy security. SPH AsiaOne Ltd. All rights reserved.