A new Web log is posting what it purports are pictures, documents and letters from U.S. soldiers and military bases in Iraq and elsewhere--all of which the site"s operator claims to have downloaded from peer-to-peer networks such as Gnutella.
The "See What You Share" site has been online for a week and has published photos ranging from a crashed military jet to a screenshot of a spreadsheet file that appears to include names, addresses and telephone numbers of marines. The site"s operator, a 30-year-old named Rick Wallace, wrote in a blog posting that he is trying to help the military understand how serious a security risk unmonitored peer-to-peer file sharing can be. CNET News.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents posted on the site.
"I want everyone to know that we can be our own worst enemies when we don"t understand the full power of our technology," Wallace wrote in a posting explaining the site. "I want every military and government agency to see firsthand what is being shared with anyone who has a computer. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I can save myself some talking." Among the items appearing on the site were documents from a transportation unit at Fort Eustis in Virginia. A Fort Eustis spokesperson contacted could not immediately comment.