FTC Warns of Wide Spread Data Breaches; Improper Release of Sensitive Consumer Data on P2P File-Sharing Networks

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has notified almost 100 organizations that personal information, including sensitive data about customers and/or employees, has been shared from the organizations’ computer networks and is available on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks to any users of those networks, who could use it to commit identity theft or fraud.

According to the Washington Post, privacy and consumer advocates have long urged regulators to address the risks posed by peer-to-peer networks. They say that, for example, an employee at a commercial firm could inadvertently publicize unsecured customer data by using a work computer to download music from a Web service such as BitTorrent, BearShare or LimeWire.

For many years, P2P networks have been a cause of serious cyber security (and copyrights for that matter) concerns. In fact, yesterday, it was announced that researchers had identified Spybot.AKB, a worm that spreads across P2P networks and email systems. So, it is good to see the FTC addressing this issue.