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Bill Would Ban P2P Use By Federal Employees
From: InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:55:57 -0600 (CST)
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/policy/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221900107 By J. Nicholas Hoover InformationWeek November 18, 2009 Following a leaked document that disclosed ethics investigations of members of Congress on a file sharing network, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee has introduced a bill that would ban the use of public peer-to-peer networks by federal employees. The Secure Federal File Sharing Act, introduced by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., would require the Office of Management and Budget to prohibit the use of P2P software like BitTorrent or Limewire on government computers and networks and to set policies on home use by federal employees who telework or remotely access government networks. P2P programs are a popular way to share music, movies, and other digital content. Part of the problem is that, when not properly configured, they can also expose personal documents stored on PCs and laptops, making the documents widely available to anyone on the P2P network. (See "Your Data And The P2P Peril.") Under the bill, in order to use file-sharing networks, an agency head or CIO would have to make a special request to use P2P software. The bill would ban software that accesses P2P networks in which "access is granted freely, without limitation or restriction, or there are little or no security measures in place." [...] ________________________________________ Did a friend send you this? From now on, be the first to find out! Subscribe to InfoSec News http://www.infosecnews.org
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