USB,Flash,Drives,Tiny,Device,N computer USB Flash Drives: Tiny Device Not Without Security Loopholes
----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc
They are one of the hottest computerperipherals out there, they are small, compact, yet miraculously they can storegigabytes of data despite their puny dimensions. No, we are not referring tothe floppy disks, since were no longer in the 90s. With floppy disks out ofthe picture, it should be a piece of cake for you to guess the nature of thesubject matter. If you are speculating that we may be referring to USB flashdrives/thumb drives you guessed right! In todays day and age, they are amust have, in fact, you are least likely to know someone who doesnt utilizethese minuscule thingamabob of technology. What you didnt know is that despiteits resourcefulness and practicality, USB jump drives can be used for other,more sinister applications.Having the option to plug a compactUSB flash drive into a computer and download considerable amount of data hasmade the USB thumb drive a popular gadget. Consequently, it has also made it asecurity risk in large corporations. Newer USB flash drives with u3 technology are able to run any softwarestraight from its drive. Demonstrations by these devices have proved these socalled Smart USB Flash drives can, without delays, easily install backdoors,retrieve usernames and passwords, and can even grab software serial keys fromany PC.Experts consider U3 equipped flashdrives a dangerous tool in the hands of hackers, as the technology can beapplied to conduct criminal activities such as stealing data. Experts confirmthat U3 drives are considered compact computers in their own respect, and onecannot underestimate their usefulness if they are utilized for illegal means.Hak.5 had demonstrated how U3 equipped devices preloaded with hacking softwarecan retrieve Windows login credentials; moreover, capability to retrieve, MSN,AOL, Gmail and Yahoo credentials was not a challenge either. Experts alsodetermined that such devices can be used to infect computers with viruses andpreload PCs with other sophisticated hacking software. What Hak.5 had demonstrated may forceorganizations to take proactive steps against defending corporate data andadapt newer data security strategies. Experts warn that organization shouldfocus more on preventing malware attacks than preventing data theft, as apotential malware can have a more devastating impact on corporate data. Simplydisabling Windows auto-run feature and disabling user-privileges is considereda critical step towards preventing u3 enabled devices from working oncomputers, and is considered effective measure for preventing hackers from eventrying to proceed further. Other more extreme steps include disabling USBdrives completely on computers, which can be done through administrativesetting or through third-party software, considering they dont hinderworkplace productivity or for that matter affect it in an unconstructivemanner. Awareness is also a big part of thepicture, training and educating employees about such issues can make adifference in preventing such an incident. Considering human error is equallyto blame, raised awareness about data security certainly yields positiveresults. Organizations which allow employeesto store confidential data on their workstations run the risk of its data beingstolen. Falling short of taking such measures will certainly give chance todata thievery; its not a matter of if, but of when. Whats more, is that topexecutives who utilize that data by working during off office hours should SecureUSB drives while transporting that datafrom work to home and vice versa.
USB,Flash,Drives,Tiny,Device,N