The Threats of Mobile Data Storage Devices

Today’s working lifestyle typically means data is mobile and carried across a multitude of devices that include: desktop PCs;  laptops; notebooks; smartphones;  PDAs; USB drives and CDs.  iPods, MP3 players and even digital cameras can now be used to store valuable data.

Every day sees another headline that exposes the vulnerabilities of these devices.

Here are just a few:

An estimated 9,000 USB sticks have been left in people’s pockets each year when they take their clothes to the dry cleaner.

A survey among London taxi drivers in September 2008 revealed that 6193 handheld devices are left behind by their customers every six months. (Source: Computer Weekly, January 2009)

These statistics fail to convey the costs that you will have to pay if any data on lost or stolen devices is compromised. In the US, studies have put the cost of losses following a theft or loss of data at about $75 per record lost. So if you lost 20,000 customer records that is a lot of money to take off the bottom line.

Our materials will help you to establish four key phases of data protection.

Detect: You can’t begin to protect data unless you can detect the devices where it is stored.

Protect: The protection of data (by encryption) has to be enforced.

Manage: Not only does data have to be protected, but also it will be necessary to provide management, audits, reports, and monitoring systems to prove that protection was in place in the event of a theft.

Support: Users forget passwords; data has to be recovered from discarded media and staff need to be able to identify the associated risks of different storage options.

 

Essential Security Guidelines

Our training catalogue contains a free demonstration on How to Encrypt a USB Drive.  In addition we strongly recommend that you purchase our ‘Mobile and Portable Data Protection: A Practical Guide.