File-sharing blamed for government data leak
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Potentially sensitive engineering data about government-owned helicopters was recently accessed by unauthorized users — through a common method hackers are stealing companies’ data today.
The documents, about the design of the VH-60 helicopter used to transport White House staff, were found on a computer in Iran. How’d they get there?
Through peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing, according to Tiversa, a private company that monitors the use of P2P networks, USA Today reports.
P2P programs allow users to connect to each others’ computers to share files, normally music and video.
But Tiversa says a P2P client was installed on a computer at an unnamed defense contractor’s office. The computer also held the helicopter files — allowing users outside the company to download the documents.
The good news: Government officials say the information wasn’t classified, and none of it had to do with the aircraft used to move the President.
But the incident does provide a warning about the dangers of using file-sharing programs at work. Many IT departments block them to prevent these types of breaches from happening.
