Iran, North Korea, China, Russia searching for U.S. secrets on P2P networks

If you're a defense contractor, here's hoping you haven't shared anything at work via P2P.

Computer systems located in Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia are scouring computer peer-to-peer file-sharing networks such asLimeWire, FrostWire, Shareaza, and Ares Galaxy for classified information that could place national security at risk, according to new research from P2P security firm ZapShares.

According to the company, offshore computers are searching for information "pertaining to many principal United States national defense contractors, weapons system information, classified government documents, information that could be used to steal the identity of United States citizens, and other data that could place national security at risk," among other things.

The list of search terms (a shortlist available here in .pdf) includes queries such as:

• "intelsat," the name of the world's largest satellite communications provider;
• "kearfott," for defense equipment manufacturer Kearfott Guidance & Navigation;
• "maersk," for global supply company A. P. Moller-Maersk Group;
• "northcom," for the United States Northern Command, an arm of the U.S. military;
• "photon research," for Raytheon's Photon Research Associates, which handle defense and intelligence for the U.S. government;
• "sikorsky," manufacturer of the U.S. President's 'Marine One' helicopter;
• "wyven," for aerospace and defense electronics provider Wyvern Technologies;
• ...and the classic "top secret."

Interesting. What should you do about this? If you're ZapShares, you'd want to download their free software that scans your system for sensitive information, naturally.

But if you're most people, you might just consider curbing your filesharing habit on systems that belong to Uncle Sam -- because apparently, someone's waiting for you to slip up.