This post is part of a series on the US House of Representatives hearing on P2P.

1. U.S. Witch Hunt

2. Who Stole My P2P Cheese

3. What the Feds Say

4. The Industry Talks

5. Clark Wants Gov. Regulation


The sins from the unauthorized downloading of popular music and adult videos is generally not enough to get Congress' attention. The impetus of such hearings is typically the accidental disclosure of sensitive documents that sensationalize the issue and get media time.

This year was no different. There were a few winners and losers.

WINNERS. Daniel Mintz of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reported that an offsite contractor inadvertently used P2P software that shared sensitive DOT data. The DOT took aggressive action to lock down and encrypt remote worker laptops.

Security company Tiversa found over 200 classified US Government documents from another contractor, including the entire pentagon backbone network security infrastructure diagram.

LOSER. One example mentioned was the disclosure of someone's 2003 Federal Tax Return. Come on, folks. That one is getting old. The alarmists trot out that old puppy at every event like a sacred talisman.