FTC warns of widespread data breach incidents

2010-02-23

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US has warned around 100 organisations of widespread data breach incidents.

Following an investigation, the FTC found that a number of IT intrusion cases have led to personal data being shared from the organisations' computer networks and made available on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks.

"Companies should take a hard look at their systems to ensure that there are no unauthorised P2P file-sharing programs and that authorised programs are properly configured and secure," said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz.

He warned that all kinds of organisation are at threat from P2P-related breaches, which lead to consumers' sensitive information being placed at risk.

The FTC has now released new education materials highlighting the risks of such data breach incidents and recommending ways to deal with them.

In another IT intrusion case, it recently emerged that Royal Dutch Shell has been hit by a data breach, in which details of around 170,000 workers were sent out to activists opposed to the group.

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