Page 11 - Security Today, September 2020

Here are three steps to begin the process.
• Identify those individuals and groups needing access to and/
or download sensitive and confidential data on encrypted USB
drives, then set a policy that allows them access.
• Document policies for your IT team and end users.
• Mandate that all employees attend training and sign an agree-
ment post-training, so they understand the acceptable-use poli- cies and the implications of not following guidelines.
If you don’t have the right policies in place, USB drives can potentially be the downfall of your data-security strategy. Setting a policy is the first step and an incredibly important one.
Provide Company-approved USB Drives
If you don’t provide encrypted USBs and implement policies that allow end users to be productive, out of necessity, employees will find a way to work around these security systems. Providing employees with approved, encrypted USB Flash drives for use in their job is an excellent way to assure that company-approved USBs are being used.
Here are a few guidelines to use in choosing the type of USB Flash Drive to give your employees:
• Proven hardware-based encryption using Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES) 256. Hardware-based security provides portabil-
ity and superior encryption over host-based software encryption.
• User storage space should be 100-percent encrypted. No non-
secured storage space should be provided.
• Hardware-based password authentication that limits the num-
ber of consecutive wrong password attempts by locking the de-
vices when maximum number of wrong attempts is reached.
• Your selected drive meets the FIPS standards for your particu- lar industry or company’s needs: FIPS 197 and/or FIPS 140-2
Level 3.
Manage Authorized USB Drives and Block Unapproved Devices
If you do not manage authorized drives, sensitive data can be copied onto these devices and shared with outsiders and your organization is the next statistic for data loss or theft.
If you don’t encrypt data before it is saved on the USB drive, hackers can bypass your anti-virus, firewall, or other controls, and that information is vulnerable. To ensure that your data is safe, it should be encrypted before being sent out via email or saved on removable storage devices. For organizations in which confiden- tial or sensitive data is part of your business – such as financial, healthcare and government, encryption is the most trustworthy means of protection. Following the above will
provide a “safe harbor” from penalties and or lawsuits related to data loss disclosures follow- ing new regulations.
Richard Kanadjian is the encrypted USB tech- nology and business manager of Kingston Tech- nology.
I WANT YOU TO BUY AMERICAN!
Our Steel Gooseneck Pedestals are
Made in America from American Steel
Our Lexan Polycarbonate Housings are
Made in America from American Plastic Resin
Stop Feeding the Foreign Beast
To Save a Buck!
www.thehousingcompany.com - sales@thehousingcompany.com - (770) 529-1040
Untitled-2 1
3/12/19 11:00 AM
WWW.SECURITYTODAY.COM 11