OnShare locks down file sharing

Former MoD boffins fire up safe sharing service.

Technology firm Z Group has introduced a file sharing service which it claims offers security levels 16 times greater than internet banking.

The OnShare service has already attracted 40,000 users in the 10 days since launch, according to the company.

Conceived by former Ministry of Defence scientists and developed over three years, OnShare uses "patented military grade encryption at a 2,048-bit level to allow users to securely share any content held on their computer with people they specifically invite, giving them complete control over what they share and with whom".

Jack Bekhor, joint chief executive at Z Group, said: "Because OnShare creates a secure point-to-point tunnel between users, and totally eradicates the need for servers, we have solved the weak link that has dogged file sharing to date.

"And given that the software is free there is no excuse for people to be caught out by unsafe open network sharing any longer. It is a phenomenon of the past."

Industry analyst CacheLogic Research said that file sharing traffic has grown to 65 per cent of all internet traffic, but that levels of unsafe sharing are increasing at an alarming rate.

A Sky News viewer recently stumbled across passport, credit card and bank details, including Pins, of celebrities and prominent diplomats while file sharing music.

OnShare is available from Onshare.com as an 8MB download.