Office applications reveal secrets

Millions of companies and individuals are publishing their secrets without knowing it, thanks to Microsoft Office.

John Ivory, director of applied research at Dolphin Technology, said, "When you copy a portion of an Excel file into a PowerPoint, you actually copy the entire Excel spreadsheet, not just the bit you want.

"When you edit a Word document, all of the metadata, the edits, the comments and other identifying features are ripe for the picking."

These unintentional slips can reveal confidential information such as sales, prospect and customer data, employee names, responsibilities and reporting structures, amongst others.

Ivory plans to show just how presentations, often given away in electronic form at conferences and on websites, can reveal government, corporate and personal secrets at InfowarCon 2007 in Bethesda, MD from 19-21 September.

"Delegates will see at first hand just how many secrets we are giving away. They will be able to bring their own files and have them dissected. They will see the national secrets we have given away because we are using the wrong programs to distribute and publish information," he said.