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By Robert Siciliano, IDTheftSecurity.com
Kingston Digital, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, the independent world leader in memory products, has announced that it will partner with security company BlockMaster and provide greater availability of centrally managed USB drives, which makes it easier to protect information on the move.
BlockMaster is well known for its USB security solutions, including the centralized USB management software, SafeConsole, which offers organizations the ability to remotely manage USB drives by resetting passwords, configuring password policy and activating audit for compliance procedures. With this partnership, Kingston will be offering its customers a centrally manageable version of its DataTraveler Vault - Privacy Edition utilizing BlockMaster's technology to provide complete control over USB drives.
According to a survey of London and New York City taxi companies last year, more than 12,500 devices, such as laptops, iPods and memory sticks, are forgotten in taxis every six months. Portable devices that may have troves of sensitive data.
Computerworld reports that a 2007 survey by Ponemon of 893 individuals who work in corporate IT showed that: "USB memory sticks are often used to copy confidential or sensitive business information and transfer the data to another computer that is not part of the company's network or enterprise system. The survey showed 51 percent of respondents said they use USB sticks to store sensitive data, 57 percent believe others within their organization routinely do it and 87 percent said their company has policies against it."
I checked out BlockMaster SafeStick 4.0 -- a fast and user-friendly secure USB flash drive, which streamlines military-grade security and meets those standards to protect your data. The SafeStick hardware controller encrypts all data using AES256-bit encryption in CBC-mode. Encryption keys are generated on board at user setup, and all communications are encrypted. SafeStick is protected against autorun malware, and onboard active anti-malware is available. Once unlocked, SafeStick is as simple to use as a standard USB flash drive.
Flash drives can be a security mess. Organizations need to have policies in place requiring secure flash drives and never plugging a stray cat into the network.
Disclosures: I have no financial ties to BlockMaster. I just like this thing.
This article was published by Infosec Island.
Robert Siciliano is an expert on personal security and identity theft and the CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com.
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