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How do most corporate data breaches happen? Lost laptops and USB drives.
Now many businesses have some kind of security practice in place for lost corporate computers, whether it’s encrypted drives with remote wipe, or a call lost-and-reporting procedure. But how many have USB drive best practices on the books? Not many.
Yet USBs, because of their size, are more likely to be lost than laptops or smartphones. And loaded with sophisticated malware and virus, USB drives have been used to penetrate some of the world’s most sensitive networks, from the Department of Defense on down.
So how do you prevent against lost data or network intrusions associated with USB storage devices or thumb drives? Here are the best practices for designing your company’s USB drive policy:
Portable and mobile storage devices are significant players in most corporate offices. Ensuring proper protection with a best practices policy and strict enforcement offers significant risk reduction—and can prevent long nights on data breach investigations.
Image: Nedko, via Flickr.com
A version of this article originally appeared on Identity Theft 911 on February 7, 2012.
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