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Best practices for improving USB security

Based on research compiled by The Ponemon Institute, regarding Secure USB usage in Europe, Kingston Technology, a memory product leader, has revealed best practices for improving USB security, as well as the risks associated with a lack of security policies in organisations using USB Flash drives containing confidential corporate data.

“Data is the DNA of any company and as such, must be protected at all times and handled cautiously and wisely,” said Jim Selby, European product marketing manager at Kingston Technology. “Data on USB devices should be secured and policies implemented to ensure the information is safeguarded, stored, downloaded, and shared with only authorised parties. Failure to do so exposes a company to a host of negative consequences, including non-compliance, fines, financial loss and lack of customer confidence and trust.”

Thanks to Kingston’s extensive market experience and customer feedback, the company has identified the top best practices that organisations should follow to protect confidential data. In the current economic climate, it is even more important that companies foster a greater understanding of USB security among their staff and put the correct policy in place to ensure they are not the next ones making the headlines.

Kingston’s recommended best practices include:

Build an encrypted USB plan: protect and comply

Incorporate secure USB Flash drives and policies into your organisation’s overall security strategy.

Identify the most suitable USB flash drives for your organisation

Determine the reliability and integrity of USBs by confirming compliance with leading security standards and ensuring that there is no malicious code on them.

Train and educate

Establish a training program that educates employees on acceptable and unacceptable use of USB Flash drives. Walk users through actual breach incidents and other negative consequences that occur when using non-secure USBs.

Establish and enforce policies

If the right policies are not in place for all to follow, USB drives can potentially be the downfall of your data security strategy. Underscoring the need to establish and enforce USB policies is pivotal; the Ponemon study results revealed that nearly 50% of organisations admitted to having lost drives containing sensitive or confidential information in the past 24 months.

Provide company-approved USBs

Proven hardware-based encryption using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256 security provides portability and superior encryption, over host-based software encryption.

Manage authorised USBs and block unapproved devices

If you do not, sensitive data can be copied onto these devices and shared with outsiders.

Encrypt confidential data

Data needs to be encrypted before it is saved in order to protect valuable information from hackers, as these hackers can bypass your anti-virus, firewall or other controls.

Certify that antivirus protection is present at every entry point

Ensure endpoint-host computer systems are equipped with up-to-date anti-virus software.

Security breaches continue to be an issue globally, where many of these breaches are the result of either lost or unsecured USB drives. In November, the Ponemon Institute released a research sponsored by Kingston Technology. The report revealed that while companies understand that employee negligence puts their organisations at risk, many of these companies do not take the necessary steps to use secure USB drives and set proper policies.

The report further uncovered that businesses are still astoundingly lenient when it comes to USB security despite recognising the dangers and negative ramifications.

“The solutions for securing USB drives and getting employees to support and adhere to the rules and policies should not be complex and expensive, nor should it reduce employee productivity,” continued Selby. “Our goal is to help businesses close the security gap by bridging best practices with secure USBs and to make it as seamless and simple as possible.”

For the full report visit: The State of USB Drive Security in Europe online and to view a snapshot of the main data points you can view the research’s infographic online.

Kingston can be found on:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kingstontechmemory

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kingstontechnologyeurope

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/kingstontech

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/kingston

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingstontechnologyemea/

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