U.S. Senate Enforces P2P Ban Addressing Copyright And Security Risks

U.S. Senate Bans P2P Networking Due To Security Risks And Copyright Issues

Jul 22, 2002 •

1 min read

Until last week, the staff of the United States Senate was demonstrating that the people who create our legislation don't think they have to obey it themselves. The Senate, which is now crafting legislation that would further restrict the illegal sharing. . . Until last week, the staff of the United States Senate was demonstrating that the people who create our legislation don't think they have to obey it themselves. The Senate, which is now crafting legislation that would further restrict the illegal sharing of copyrighted works over networks, was apparently a hotbed of illegal file sharing and other peer-to-peer (P2P) networking activity.

Last week, the Senate Sergeant at Arms clamped down, and cut off all P2P networking within the Senate. The reason? Such networking practices were a security risk, and they were being used to violate copyright laws.

Copyright violations aside, a P2P network--whether used within a company or over the public Internet--is one of the greatest security risks your employees can engage in. Used illegally, it can create significant risks to the company if violations are uncovered.

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