Corporate Security Vulnerabilities Surfacing with Increased
use of Portable Storage Devices Around the Office
iPod's, Flash/Thumb Drives, and MP3 players have quickly and
successfully integrated into our culture and are now causing
increased threats to our corporate computing environment.
The ease of use and convenience of these technological devices
have overshadowed their security risk potential for some time
now. The following are some excerpts of what some industry
professionals have to say:
"These easily concealed devices --
which employees often bring into the workplace -- can be
readily plugged into any USB port, allowing users to quickly
and effortlessly download sensitive corporate information.
Then that information can all too easily then be taken to
the outside world. Even when transgressions are unintentional,
security risks abound, since portable storage devices are
able to circumvent network perimeter defenses such as firewalls
and antivirus products at the mail server and can introduce
viruses or other malware."
"In a recent Computer Security Institute/FBI
Computer Crime and Security Survey, over three quarters
of all respondents cited insider abuse of network access
as a top security concern for companies. And rightly so,
since the survey indicated that disgruntled employees were
responsible for most attacks on company networks. More than
$70 million was lost by organizations in just one year as
a result of theft of proprietary information."
-Douglas Schweitzer, "Tiny Storage Devices Carry a
Big Risk" ComputerWorld Inc,
Dec 12 2004.
Another writer by the name of Will Sturgeon has written a
multiple articles stating similar findings about corporate
vulnerability. In "Is
mobile security 'the new Y2K'?", Sturgeon blatantly
points out the fact that more than half (63%) of IT managers
realize they don't have the security threat from mobile data
storage devices under control.
In a previous article titled,
"iPod
security still a stumbling block for firms", Sturgeon
addresses security vulnerabilities with iPod and flash drive
use at work.
"The threats relating to iPods and other MP3 players
range from the introduction of copyrighted media onto the
corporate network for which the company becomes liable,
to the theft of business critical data, which is a threat
in common with other removable devices."
-Will Sturgeon
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