Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Peer to peer file sharing is a great technology used to share data over peer networks. It is also an excellent software to get hacked and have your identity stolen.
P2P software installation allows anyone, including criminal hackers to access your data. This can result in data breaches, fraud, credit card and identity theft. This is the easiest and, frankly, the most fun kind of hacking. I saw many reports of government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, mortgage brokers and others discovering P2P software on their networks after personal data has been leaked.
The Register reports that a man from Washington state was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after admitting using the LimeWire file-sharing program to steal declarations income and other sensitive documents. He sought the hard drives of users of LimeWire for files containing words such as "declaration", "Account" and "tax.pdf." It would then download tax returns, bank statements and other sensitive documents and use to steal identities.
I did a story with a Fox News reporter and a local family who had four children, including a 15 year old with an iPod full of music, but no money. I asked her father where she got all his music and he replied: "I do not know." He did not know that her daughter had installed P2P software on the family computer and was sharing all of their data with the world. The reporter asked a lot of personal information I could find on the P2P network in five minutes. I said, "Let's do it in a minute."
There are millions of computers loaded with P2P software, and parents are usually clueless about the exposure of their data. P2P offers a path of least resistance in the computer of a person, so be smart and make sure you are not opening a door to identity thieves.
- Do not install P2P software on your computer.
- If you are not sure whether a family member or employee has installed P2P software, check to see if anything familiar was installed. A look at your "All Programs Menu" will show nearly all programs on your computer. If you find an unfamiliar program, do an online search to see what you found.
- Set administrator privileges to prevent the installation of new software without your knowledge.
- If you must use P2P software, make sure that you do not share the data from your hard drive. When you install and configure the software, do not let the P2P program select data for you.
- Get a credit freeze. Go to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your particular state. This is a tool absolutely necessary to secure your credit. in most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name.
- and invest in identity theft protection. All forms of protection against theft identity can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses P2P hacks on Fox.
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, an expert on identity theft, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 and start-up companies as a consultant on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. the thoughts and advice of Siciliano on all these issues often appear in both television and print media news, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of safety training as a member of the American Society for Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on high alert; How to take control of your personal safety and to prevent fraud . He also established a partnership with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness of the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips on how you can protect yourself.