Washington - Several lawmakers on Tuesday called peer-to-peer networks a potential "national security threat," as some users may, and in some cases have, inadvertantly made sensitive or classified documents on their computers available for sharing with others, CNET News.com reported.

While benefits of peer-to-peer technology were mentioned at the Government Reform Committee hearing yesterday, both Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and ranking member Rep Tom Davis (R-Va.) said file-sharing technology posed a national security threat, and that they are separately considering related legislation.

The Committee tested file-sharing software Lime Wire, and said it was able to find "personal bank records and tax forms, attorney-client communications, the corporate strategies of Fortune 500 companies, confidential corporate accounting documents, internal documents from political campaigns, government emergency response plans and even military operation orders," Waxman said.

A representative from the Federal Trade Commission testified that the agency's studies found that potential P2P security issues "stem largely from how individuals use the technology rather than being inherent in the technology itself."

Lime Wire chairman Mark Gorton defended the technology, while acknowledging that more could be done to warn users against sharing files they don't mean to.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2h3c7h (CNET)

http://tinyurl.com/2hlzs4 (AP)

http://tinyurl.com/ypo3mf (Hollywood Reporter)

http://www.limewire.com