shite, now come on

i don't work for the government (but we're still subject to the patriot act. don't get me started on what we have to do because of that). i work for an international financial institution/insurance company.

not only do we have a clear desk policy (we have to have our computers locked, our drawers locked, all papers with work related data on them locked up/off of our desks if we are going to be away from the desk for an hour or over. that includes locking everything up tightly each night. we have tight security to get into the building as well. cameras and security personnel all over. 24/7 (i know because i go in at 3 or 4 am). yet we can't leave a work related paper on our desks over night. oh, we're checked on it from time to time. people do walk around and check. we get notified if we've violated that policy. it's (adhering to it) also a part of our annual/midyear review process. they ARE serious about protecting the data of our customers....

AND all sorts of sites are blocked from our laptops (most of us have laptops with docking stations). no social networking sites like facebook. no youtube. no flickr. no blogger. AND CERTAINLY NOT ANY SITE WITH PEER TO PEER SHARING CAPABILITIES.

i can't imagine an organization responsible for the safety of the citizens of the united states of america being less careful than my company - BUT IT'S TRUE
File Sharing Leaks Sensitive Federal Data, Lawmakers Are Told

By Brian Krebs and Ellen Nakashima

Washington Post Staff Writers

The indiscriminate use of a popular online data-sharing technology has led to the disclosure of sensitive government and personal information -- including FBI surveillance photos of a Mafia hit man, lists of people with HIV, and motorcade routes and safe-house locations for then-first lady Laura Bush, a congressional panel was told on Wednesday.

The information is often exposed inadvertently by people who download the technology to share music or other files, not realizing that the "peer-to-peer" software also makes the contents of their computers available to other users, experts said.

The issue is so pressing that the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), said he would introduce a bill to ban such software from all government and contractor computers and networks..........