US Contractor Follows Japanese Example: Leaks Military Secrets Via P2P
from the security-software-anyone? dept
Nearly four years ago, it was reported that a contractor in Japan who had plans for a nuclear powerstation leaked them via a file sharing app on his personal computer. It was never clearly explained why he had those classified work-related materials on his personal computer, but it led to quite a mess, with the government begging people to delete the nuclear secrets, if they found them. You would hope that with that as a guide, other government and military contractors around the world would be more careful. No such luck. Lots of folks have been sending in the news that the details on Marine One, President Obama's helicopter were recently leaked via file sharing software found on the computer of a (you guessed it) government contractor. Apparently no one takes things like basic computer security seriously anymore.
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Filed Under: classified, contractor, lost data, marine one, p2p, us
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File sharing program
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Disgusting...
What these defense contractors need is some IT guys with common sense watching these computers, especially the ones owned by those who can't even protect sensitive data from leaking out from their own computers.
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Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
No one disputes that these specialists were being foolish--after all, one shared both the passwords and router addresses for the Pentagon's secret computer backbone AND the OMB memorandum warning contractors to prohibit all uses of any file-sharing programs. That qualifies as "foolish" under even the most generous definition of the term.
But the real point is this: If the IT specialist for a top-secret government contractor cannot figure out how to safely install and operate a program like LimeWire, why on earth should this obviously dangerous program be made available to millions of teenagers who, as this example would suggest, will be even less capable of using it safely? --Tom
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Re: Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
I hope I'm missing your sarcasm. I truly do. But just in case, you spent your first two paragraphs showing these IT people are totally foolish and idiotic. You then suggest that because they can't teach their end users to install p2p programs (or limit such installs) that such a program should be, what, banned from the internet?
Obviously, teens all over the world will switch from using limewire to download music and instead use limewire to download bomb schematics and nuclear secrets?
You don't actually have any clue what you are talking about, do you? Or do you just really have a dry sense of humor?
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Re: Re: Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
There's no sarcasm from Tom. He works for an organization that is paid a ton of money by the entertainment companies to publish ridiculous personal attacks on folks like Larry Lessig and then to make outlandish claims about why file sharing should be banned. Pay no attention to him.
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Re: Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
Really just a form of prostitute, aren't you?
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Re: Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
Idiot.
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Re: Re: Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
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Nope!
I work for a MAJOR telco and we are instructed to use our user name and that the password is the same as the user ID, I asked them how this is secure and they just tell me, Just leave it as it is. So no, security is not Pri 1
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Re: Mike Masnick Misses the Point--Again
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well, with the RIAA laying off people left and right we all can just hope to see you disappear with the rest of them.
I am sure you will go away once the paychecks run out.
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