This latest step by the Recording Industry Association of America to clamp-down on internet piracy comes at the same time as a report from software firm Websense, suggesting that 55% of IT managers surveyed discovered unauthorised file-swapping programs on employee computers.
If a member of staff has downloaded KaZaA to a computer on a corporate network, all files downloaded are by default available to all other users of KaZaA – so the company's network becomes an access point for millions who might share the musical tastes of the employee. Since corporate networks tend to have fast, always-on connections, they will be a more popular repository than typical home computers.
Companies are warned that they ultimately carry responsibility for the irresponsibility of staff. The RIAA's letter to the 300 US-based companies points to specific instances where staff using each recipient's network have accessed KaZaA or other peer-to-peer services to access music stored on others' computer hard drives. A disc enclosed with each letter apparently shows the logs of music files being made available on the particular company's network.
Reuters quotes from the letter:
"In short, your computer network and resources are being used to illegally distribute copyrighted music on the internet [...] We strongly urge you to take immediate steps to prevent the continued infringement of our members' sound recordings on your corporate network."
It concludes: "These acts of infringement could expose your employees and your company to significant legal damages."
Another study released this week by network software company Palisade Systems indicates that adult and child pornography exceed music and Hollywood movies as the single largest use of peer-to-peer applications – and this material is also being made available on corporate networks.
According to the study, 42% of all searches on Gnutella file-sharing applications were for adult or child pornography movies or images. In Palisade's analysis of 22 million searches on file-sharing networks, it found that 73% of all movie searches were for pornography; 24% of all image searches were for child pornography; 6% of all searches were for child pornography of some kind; and only 3% were for non-pornographic or non-copyrighted materials.
Aside from the risks of copyright infringement, such material opens companies to discrimination lawsuits and potentially criminal proceedings for P2P use associated with child pornography.
