Study Finds Lots Of Sensitive Documents On P2P Networks

Apparently, while people who like to use P2P file sharing networks are sharing music, movies, and other data amongst each other they are also sharing sensitive personal information at the same time. A new study has found that thousands of sensitive documents are on P2P networks today.

The study was conducted by researchers at Dartmouth College and the study researchers were looking to see how easy it was to download health data from P2P networks. According to the study, the researchers were able to download 3,000 files that contained information including insurance details, diagnosis information, and personal info that can be used in identity theft.

One of the file downloads had information on 28,000 patients and other files contained enough information to be classified as a "major breach" under federal law. The information reportedly made its way to P2P networks when employees installed P2P apps like Limewire or BearShare on work computers.