Congress Says P2P is Dangerous to National Security, Singles Out LimeWire
The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is taking a hard stance against peer-to-peer file sharing, claiming the practice is “jeopardizing” national security.
“At any time your computer is connected to the Internet, other computer users with similar software could simply search your hard drive and copy unprotected files. Unfortunately, that is the sad reality for many unsuspecting computer users,” said Chairman Edophus Towns.
Towns went on to single out LimeWire, a popular P2P file sharing program, noting a startling amount of sensitive data made freely available by using the app. In addition to music and movies, Committee staff also unearthed federal tax returns, the Social Security numbers and family information for every master sergeant in the Army, medical records of about 24,000 patients of a Texas hospital, FBI files, and the safe house location for the First Family.
Naturally, Mark Gorton of the Lime Group saw things differently.
“I am confident that with LimeWire 5.2.8 any sharing is intentional sharing. LimeWire does not share any Documents by default,” Gorton explained.
