Comments on: Oh, That Pesky Peer-to-Peer! http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/ Copyright Information Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:15:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: The Copyright Alliance Blog » Blog Archive » FTC Warns of P2P-Caused Data Breaches http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-47898 The Copyright Alliance Blog » Blog Archive » FTC Warns of P2P-Caused Data Breaches Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:51:09 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-47898 [...] is hardly a new story; we noted a few months ago that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer had his financial data circulating on a P2P network because someone at his money management firm had downloaded P2P software to his work [...] [...] is hardly a new story; we noted a few months ago that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer had his financial data circulating on a P2P network because someone at his money management firm had downloaded P2P software to his work [...]

]]> By: SteveAK http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-40634 SteveAK Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:37:30 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-40634 Patrick, I understand your perspective but I believe that much criticism of p2p software is overblown. While different applications are.. well, different - much of the criticism I read attacked features like allowing users to share an entire folder (including subdirectories). I would not use any software which forced me to go to annoying extra lengths to do so - if you don't want to share the whole folder, uncheck that box! Patrick, I understand your perspective but I believe that much criticism of p2p software is overblown. While different applications are.. well, different - much of the criticism I read attacked features like allowing users to share an entire folder (including subdirectories). I would not use any software which forced me to go to annoying extra lengths to do so - if you don’t want to share the whole folder, uncheck that box!

]]> By: Patrick Ross http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39247 Patrick Ross Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:48:49 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39247 Agree the government is not ready. But neither are the tens of thousands of US citizens whose tax returns and SSNs are forever out there, on strangers' hard drives continuing to be shared. Do a search for Excel files or even "social security number" and you'll see the pervasiveness. If a government employee loses a USB drive or a laptop, all concerned learn pretty quickly. One doesn't tend to notice when a file is shared off of your computer. This is particularly true if a family member (read teenager) installs software the parent doesn't really understand, which is not an uncommon occurrence. One can like P2P technology -- I love its ability to allow connections, and let's not forget it was born at the dawn of the Internet when scientists at universities used early TCP/IP to collaborate on scientific experiments -- without putting one's head in the sand about the hard-wired elements of infringing P2P software developers to dupe people into sharing even when they don't want to. I would think users of these services would be annoyed at the software treating them with some disdain. Whatever you think of file-sharing and infringement, this kind of abuse of a software user's privacy seems indefensible. Agree the government is not ready. But neither are the tens of thousands of US citizens whose tax returns and SSNs are forever out there, on strangers’ hard drives continuing to be shared. Do a search for Excel files or even “social security number” and you’ll see the pervasiveness.

If a government employee loses a USB drive or a laptop, all concerned learn pretty quickly. One doesn’t tend to notice when a file is shared off of your computer. This is particularly true if a family member (read teenager) installs software the parent doesn’t really understand, which is not an uncommon occurrence.

One can like P2P technology — I love its ability to allow connections, and let’s not forget it was born at the dawn of the Internet when scientists at universities used early TCP/IP to collaborate on scientific experiments — without putting one’s head in the sand about the hard-wired elements of infringing P2P software developers to dupe people into sharing even when they don’t want to.

I would think users of these services would be annoyed at the software treating them with some disdain. Whatever you think of file-sharing and infringement, this kind of abuse of a software user’s privacy seems indefensible.

]]> By: Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39190 Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:11:01 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39190 Correction: half a dozen *publicized* cases involving USB drives. When somebody shares a file on P2P it practically becomes public property, and you're never getting the genie back into the bottle; but with things like lost USB drives or viruses/trojans, where only a single person obtains the files, it's easy to cover up the leak for a while. With regard to sensitive government leaks, P2P is the extreme tip of the iceberg. The 21st century has come, and the government is NOT ready. Correction: half a dozen *publicized* cases involving USB drives. When somebody shares a file on P2P it practically becomes public property, and you’re never getting the genie back into the bottle; but with things like lost USB drives or viruses/trojans, where only a single person obtains the files, it’s easy to cover up the leak for a while.

With regard to sensitive government leaks, P2P is the extreme tip of the iceberg. The 21st century has come, and the government is NOT ready.

]]> By: Anti-File Sharing Lobbyists/Lawyers Shove Each Other Aside To Blame P2P Rather Than Dumb Guy For Congressional Leak | PHP Hosts http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39170 Anti-File Sharing Lobbyists/Lawyers Shove Each Other Aside To Blame P2P Rather Than Dumb Guy For Congressional Leak | PHP Hosts Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:38:56 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39170 [...] dumb employees and bad government security) was a huge national security threat and (of course) to urge Congresss to pass laws against file sharing programs. The one thing in common? All of those calls come from people who get [...] [...] dumb employees and bad government security) was a huge national security threat and (of course) to urge Congresss to pass laws against file sharing programs. The one thing in common? All of those calls come from people who get [...]

]]> By: Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39161 Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:16:50 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39161 "There is also that pesky technology called pen and paper. Once, someone wrote down some confidential information. This paper was then accidental left outside and someone found it. Someone should pass a law or something! Then there was the case of the telephone. One time, one crook called another crook to plan a crime. The phone company did nothing to monitor phone conversations about such illegal activity happening on their network." Don't forget the USB drive. There have already been half a dozen cases in the US where a government employee has lost a USB drive containing sensitive government files. Think there were also a case or two of an entire laptop being lost. “There is also that pesky technology called pen and paper. Once, someone wrote down some confidential information. This paper was then accidental left outside and someone found it. Someone should pass a law or something!

Then there was the case of the telephone. One time, one crook called another crook to plan a crime. The phone company did nothing to monitor phone conversations about such illegal activity happening on their network.”

Don’t forget the USB drive. There have already been half a dozen cases in the US where a government employee has lost a USB drive containing sensitive government files. Think there were also a case or two of an entire laptop being lost.

]]> By: Patrick Ross http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39153 Patrick Ross Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:03:47 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39153 And guns are regulated at the state and federal level. Perhaps you are in favor of plastic guns (evading metal detectors)? They're designed to deceive, and thus are regulated. And guns are regulated at the state and federal level. Perhaps you are in favor of plastic guns (evading metal detectors)? They’re designed to deceive, and thus are regulated.

]]> By: Nick http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39151 Nick Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:33:14 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39151 There is also that pesky technology called pen and paper. Once, someone wrote down some confidential information. This paper was then accidental left outside and someone found it. Someone should pass a law or something! Then there was the case of the telephone. One time, one crook called another crook to plan a crime. The phone company did nothing to monitor phone conversations about such illegal activity happening on their network. To borrow a phrase from the gun lobby: P2P software does not share files, people share files. There is also that pesky technology called pen and paper. Once, someone wrote down some confidential information. This paper was then accidental left outside and someone found it. Someone should pass a law or something!

Then there was the case of the telephone. One time, one crook called another crook to plan a crime. The phone company did nothing to monitor phone conversations about such illegal activity happening on their network.

To borrow a phrase from the gun lobby: P2P software does not share files, people share files.

]]> By: Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2009/10/oh-that-pesky-peer-to-peer/#comment-39113 Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:51:59 +0000 http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/?p=519#comment-39113 Ah yes, I've heard about this incident, as well as its predecessors; I've also heard various details more specific than the common info about them. It's truly frightening that the people who have access to state secrets and information of national security have no more clue about the most basic cyber-security practices than the people flipping burgers at the fast food restaurant down the street. Right now it's orders of magnitude cheaper to exploit stupid people in high places than to perform cyber-attacks on government/military systems. Of course it's extremely unlikely that this was such a case: if this had been an attempt by terrorists or hackers to get internal documents from the government, they wouldn't have released them publicly and revealed the security breach; this was just your run-of-the-mill stupid person screwing up. Ah yes, I’ve heard about this incident, as well as its predecessors; I’ve also heard various details more specific than the common info about them. It’s truly frightening that the people who have access to state secrets and information of national security have no more clue about the most basic cyber-security practices than the people flipping burgers at the fast food restaurant down the street.

Right now it’s orders of magnitude cheaper to exploit stupid people in high places than to perform cyber-attacks on government/military systems. Of course it’s extremely unlikely that this was such a case: if this had been an attempt by terrorists or hackers to get internal documents from the government, they wouldn’t have released them publicly and revealed the security breach; this was just your run-of-the-mill stupid person screwing up.

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