PC Data Security Blog

Considerations for USB/Flash Security

Laptops that are in use are obviously a potential data security threat. With all of those laptops are about twice as many USB flash drives. Data transferred onto these flash drives are largely unmonitored or regulated. Is your data being kept safe?

How do you protect yourself from employees losing flash drives with sensitive data on them? There are ways and products to block the use of flash devices. But that can hinder the productivity of the employee. There are also several products that do on-the-fly encryption. One of these with a good key management system and the ability to remotely kill access to the flash drive might be a good solution to this threat. Looking in the somewhat near future is another option, BitLocker.

Currently, BitLocker is a full-disk encryption solution available as a part of Windows Vista (Enterprise and Ultimate versions). In service pack 1, it was improved to allow the encryption of not only the boot partition but additional drive/partitions as well. In Window 7, BitLocker is getting another boost to its functionality. BitLocker To Go, will allow users to use full-disk encryption technology on external USB flash or other removable drives. Windows 7 will also allow for much easier management of blocking all storage devices that are not protected with Bitlocker To Go.

Just like with normal BitLocker, these BitLocker To Go encrypted drives can be accessed via password or through the use of a smart card and four digit pin. It also has a recovery key in case the password or smart card is lost. On the down side, the initial encryption of the drive can take hours depending on the size of the drive you are using. However, while the setup of BitLocker To Go can only be done on Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions, they can be accessed and used normally on any version of Windows 7.

When deciding what type of solution to use to protect sensitive data on removable drives, be sure to consider these things: key management, ease of setup and support, and the amount of control you have if the drive is lost.