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Peer-To-Peer

Index
• Executive Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
• Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
• Impact on Companies whose employees are using P2P software----------------------------- 5
• Loss of confidential information ------------------------------------------------------------------8
• Loss of employee productivity -------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
• Liability of the Companies for security breaches traced to P2P activity --------------------8
• Role IT Department should play to prevent Peer-to-Peer activities -------------------------10
• P2P access on certain cases ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
• Making a business case for funding an IT project to deal with P2P issues ---------------- 11
• Conclusion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
• Sources & References
• Team Roster

Executive Summary
Employee use of peer-to-peer (P2P) applications on company time and with company resources exposes companies to serious and potentially terrible risks. Some of the problems include security threats due to exposure to viruses and worms, loss of company data, introduction of spyware into the enterprise and open way for hackers to exploit, these concerns are scary and very real. When a single audio file takes 5MB of disk space and a video file can be as large as 700MB, it is easy to see what the effect might be on a company’s network bandwidth and storage facilities. P2P is used primarily to exchange pirated or inappropriate audio, video, and software files. Companies must take appropriate measures to guard against the associated legal liability. Companies should also be concerned about employee use of P2P applications that have no direct positive business impact. The effects of running P2P...