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Loading ...The landmine of P2P file-sharing
By Joaquim P. Menezes -
Until recently, major music and recording industry labels have been among the most vocal – and vociferous – critics of file-sharing over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
Their revenues – they say – have been irreparably hurt by the millions of music and video files shared on a daily basis over P2P networks, such as Limewire.
Now, the controversy over P2P sharing has grown graver and deeper. Issues being raised about the practice go far beyond its impact on the music industry’s revenues.
The graver problem, according to some experts, has to do with “inadvertent” file sharing over P2P networks.
As the term suggests, inadvertent sharing occurs without the knowledge and consent of the user who’s data is being “shared.”
Such unintentional transmission, experts say, poses serious security and privacy risks — (personal, corporate and even national).
These issues were front and centre during yesterday’s U.S. Senate Committee hearing on ‘Inadvertent File Sharing over Peer-to-Peer Networks’.
One of those who testified at that hearing was, Thomas Sydnor II, attorney-advisor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Syndor painted an alarming picture of the dangers of “inadvertent file sharing” over P2P networks and the scope of the problem.
Those engaging in inadvertent P2P file sharing, he said, include individuals as well as businesses.
And it gets worse.
“Federal, state, and local governments are also affected - and sensitive data has been exposed,” Syndor said.
What’s more – “Internet criminals know this, and they are data-mining file-sharing networks.”
But wait a minute. How can data get “inadvertently” transmitted over P2P networks?
Eric Johnson, from the Center for Digital Strategies, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, answers that question. (see: Why File Sharing Networks Are Dangerous).
Current P2P clients, he notes, allow users to share items in a particular folder and often direct users to move files to that folder.
In normal operation, a P2P client simply writes files to disk as it downloads them and reads files from disk as it uploads them.
But, he says there are several routes for confidential data to get on to the network. For example:
- A user accidentally shares folders containing the information;
- A person – from ignorance or laziness – doesn’t take the time to organize their folders, and stores shared mp3s, videos etc. in the same folder as confidential letters, papers, and passwords.
- A user downloads malware that, when executed, exposes files or the client software has bugs that result in unintentional sharing of file directories.
Sometimes the design of the P2P program’s user interface causes the problem.
For instance, a study by Good and Krekelberg, found the KaZaA interface design contributed to user confusion over what files were being shared.
Leading security experts, such as Howard Schmidt, co-author of the U.S. Administration’s National Cyber-Security Policy, conclude that inadvertent sharing is “a major part of the current identity theft problem.”
It makes P2P networks a fertile field of operation for online criminals.
Johnson cites a recent case in Denver, where a gang of identity thieves was arrested for buying crystal meth by downloading inadvertently shared financial data with LimeWire.
Some software vendors are developing targeted products to respond to the issue of unintentional file sharing over P2P networks.
For instance, SafeMedia Corporation says it has created (patent pending) business software that prevents “contaminated” P2P networks from indiscriminately accessing users’ computers.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Fanatics of the P2P super power gave birth to the devil.
It is the strongest P2P file sharing system Share NT.
And, Because UDP is used, even the band limiting that the internet service provider does is exceeded.
Reference
Share (P2P) - Wikipedia
Share NT - 2ch.ru