"In many products, security is an afterthought, it's kind of bolted on afterwards, " Mr. Berson says.

WSJ: Mideast Uses Western Tools to Battle the Skype Rebellion

Psychologists Nir Halevy, Yair Berson, and Adam Galinsky set out to find the answer in a series of new studies, pitting one style of leadership against the other to see which style is generally preferred, and why.

FORBES: Two Versions of the Perfect Leader Go Head-To-Head. Who Triumphs?

Tom Berson, a California cryptographer hired by Skype in 2005 to evaluate its security, says he met the programmers, who told him they grew up when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union and had the perils of "wiretapping in mind" when creating Skype.

WSJ: Mideast Uses Western Tools to Battle the Skype Rebellion