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Shared.......... from right under your nose!
Have a think about the following statement.....................Whilst you are busy reading this web page and listening to music via one of the many popular music file sharing programs (remember you agreed to file share so you could access Napster etc) then you may have had files copied, or lifted, or deleted, or altered, from "right under your nose"!
If you aren't interested, then just continue on listening to MP3 files, but be aware that you may also be unloading your credit card and bank account details, corporate information, trade details, sensitive details, intellectual property and so on with whoever wishes to extract them from your PC right under your nose, whilst you enjoy your music!
It's a FACT - File sharing is here to stay!
The Application Service Provider (ASP) market model is based on "renting software and services" across the web. The Microsoft NET model is based on the same approach and the HailStorm technology they announced recently confirms this view. The ASP model has had some nervous starts with some failed service providers already and many Information Technology Professionals are very nervous about using software "over the web" as a means of running the business. This article is not about ASP activities BUT about the wider issues and risks of FILE SHARING!
There are File Sharing software web located services already on offer that allow Peer to Peer (p2p) file sharing of much more than you might be comfortable with! In fact they are becoming very attractive web sites as everybody loves FREE software! see: http://www.auditnet.org/articles/have_you_been_napstered.htm
HOWEVER some of the software at these sites offers access using file sharing techniques to not only MP3, and Sounds, Images, etc BUT ALSO executable files, documents, spreadsheets etc TO ANY user who cares or can locate an OPEN share on a PC based system.
The threat here is ENORMOUS in piracy, theft of corporate or private data and the risk is rising daily!
What sort of files can be accessed using specialist file sharing software?
They could be any one of the following:
- music
- images
- documents
- text
- executable files
- passwords
- credit card details
- bank account details
- customer details
- corporate documents
- corporate spreadsheets
- intellectual property
- new technologies
- R&D details
- personal records
Basically it can be any kind of file, application or
corporate sensitive information that is stored and saved on the local
hard drive or network drive where the "share" has granted
(unwittingly) open access to other unseen users across the Internet! The
most extensive capability is located at ShareSniffer located at http://www.sharesniffer.com
who have come up with a technique for a
trademarked product for a fee that allows you to DETECT open shares on any
PC on the Internet and then copy/download/execute that file without the end
user knowing.
This means if your open PC on the www has a share that is locatable then
they have access to your data etc. If you are a home user the biggest risk
is your credit card and bank account details.
Of course, they have to have "intent" to grab your details - BUT can you afford the risk?
| Some Commonly Known File Sharing Sites |
and some more (from www.dmoz.org)
If you wish to add the actual web links to your Internet site BLOCK LIST then send an e-mail as follows; Add me to the PCProfile Audit maillist and send list of file sharing sites
|
SUMMARY
This paper is very clearly about the risks of
file sharing. Napster was an example that leads you on to the other risks. I
don't care about the home user. They are stealing, that's their problem.
However, I do care about organisations (corporate and government) that get
landed with a pile of problems because their staff are "Napstering the
organisation or using file sharing in a manner that exposes the organisation
to risk".
I coined the word "Napstering" as they were one of the pioneers of
file sharing. Napster won't be around in its current form for as long as
what they think but already there are a pile of other alternatives that
offer the same or better service
If you are corporate user the risk is bigger.
File sharing is risky. Napster has paved the way for a very fragile Internet
medium and the software vendors have been slow to respond and always in
retrospect! Already the exposure levels are astronomical!
By all means, continue to share your credit card and bank account details
with whoever wishes to extract them from your PC under your nose, whilst you
enjoy your music!! BUT don't say you weren't warmed!
What should you be doing as The AUDITOR?
- talk to your computing management about just how secure the firewall is in your organisation Is it on your audit program list to check?
- if they say it's "all under control" make sure you CHECK that it is! DON'T JUST TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT - most systems have Microsoft SMS auditing TURNED OFF due to network bandwidth choke!!
Try our 25 user FREE "Software Compliance Message"! This will Help get YOUR message "to the desktop"
| When did
you last conduct a software compliance audit?
To get a handle on WHAT APPLICATIONS are installed on each PC then why not try out AUDIT-Manager ?
|
We also offer other FREE audit software tools at the following page links; http://www.pcprofile.com
|
PCProfile PC audit software tools provide software compliance solutions for management and auditors. Our flagship product - AUDIT-Baseline allows for a software audit and a "differential" audit to be taken at any time to identify additions, changes and deletions since the last audit! We specialise in PC Audit Software, Software Compliance, PC Auditing, Software Inventory and Licence Management, and PC Desktop Asset Management and have significant management experience in the issues and problems faced by organisations (large and small) when trying to conduct desktop hardware and software audits, software inventory and asset creation.
AUDIT-Baseline, AUDIT-Manager, AUDIT-Images, AUDIT-Sounds, AUDIT-Compare, Software Compliance Auditors Toolkit, and Software Inventory System Copyright 1999-2001(C) Rob Harmer Consulting Services Pty Ltd All rights reserved Worldwide
- Article written exclusively for AUDITNET.ORG by: Rob Harmer Consulting Services Pty Ltd
- P.O. Box 196 Modbury North Sth Australia
5092 fax +61 8 8265 1961
email robharm@pcprofile.com http://www.pcprofile.com -
For more information see "Have You Been Napstered? .......FILE SHARING RISKS" etc"
now published exclusively at
http://www.auditnet.org/articles/have_you_been_napstered.htm