P-to-P users expose US government secrets

[OhioChick]

Contractors and government employees are sharing hundreds of secret documents on peer-to-peer networks

July 27, 2007

Contractors and U.S. government employees are sharing hundreds of secret documents on peer-to-peer networks, in many cases overriding the default security settings on their P-to-P software to do so, according to a company that monitors the networks.

Robert Boback, CEO of P-to-P monitoring service vendor Tiversa, and retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, a Tiversa board member, said the company found more than 200 sensitive U.S. government documents during a recent scan of three popular P-to-P networks. The two testified earlier this week before the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Among the files shared: Physical threat assessments for multiple cities, including Philadelphia and Miami; a physical security attack assessment for a U.S. Air Force base; a detailed report from a government contractor on how to connect two secure Department of Defense (DOD) networks; a document titled, "NSA (National Security Agency) Security Handbook."

Many lawmakers directed their criticism toward the Lime Group, distributor of the popular P-to-P software Lime Wire, during a contentious hearing Tuesday. But Boback, in a later interview, said his testimony wasn't intended to cast blame on Lime Wire.

In many cases, P-to-P users override the default security settings in the software. In Lime Wire, the default setting allows users to share files only from a "shared" folder, but many users apparently override the default settings, ignore warnings from the software, and share their entire "my documents" folder or other folders, Lime Group CEO Mark Gorton testified.

In other cases, government employees or contractors apparently ignore policies prohibiting the use of P-to-P software on computers containing sensitive government information, witnesses testified.

P-to-P users can also download files with hidden executables that can index the entire hard drive, Boback said, and that can create victims of even expert computer users. But the fault doesn't lie with Lime Wire or other P-to-P vendors, he added.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/27/P-to-P-users-expose-government-secrets_1.html

[indepat]

1. Gee, you would think giving unauthorized access to secret government documents should be a crime

[DS1]

2. Bullshit.

[acmavm]

3. Boy, this government of ours sure employs a lot of jackasses.

[OhioChick]

4. Sure Does...

From the top down...

[Demeter]

9. Too Many Jackasses, Not Enough Democrats

and the average IQ could stand another 20-30 points, too.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

5. AMERICA HAS A CANCER, CALLED PRIVATIZATION

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER WITH CONNECTIONS

[bonito]

8. You nailed it, imo.

[fed-up]

6. only two recs so far???? K/R nt

[eridani]

7. We may just have to learn to deal with a world where there aren't any secrets

What will protect the privacy of Jane and Joe Average is that there is too much information to sift through, and that most of us are pretty boring.