Remember Physical Data Security
Just like fortified castle defenses, most electronic data security focuses on the internet. Phishing emails, malicious websites, unsavory social media links, public Wifi connections, and weak passwords. All are potentially exploited by data thieves. But what about the old school theft? What about in person physical theft of data?
Stealth Storage in a Pocket
Insider theft and passers-by can too quickly pop in a USB drive and terabytes of data quickly and unnoticed. Storage size and data transfer speed are no longer limitations for would be thieves. Today’s reality is that even USB flash drives aka thumb drives can be found for less than $20 for 2TB of storage!
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- USB flash drives
- Portable 2.5″ Solid State drives
- Portable 2.5″ hard disk drives
- USB adapters for M2 SSD sticks
- USB A, B, C
- USB 3.0
- mobile phones
Gone In 60 Seconds?
What About Our Ever Present Phones?
And perhaps most stealth of all…the our ever present mobile phones! Who would notice a cell phone connected to a computer? Likely just a battery recharge right? Maybe it’s more. An iPhone can have to 1TB of storage and many Android phones have large storage AND the ability to add microSD cards for even more.
USB Adapter for M.2 Internal SSD
As high as 4TB of space, blazing fast, and small as a stick of gum!
What’s the Risk? What’s At Stake?
Everything valuable to you and your business.
HIPAA breach of protected health information (PHI). Company proprietary secrets. Customer private financial information, including social security numbers and other items covered by GLBA and consumer privacy laws. Book of business – the clientele that you’ve worked so hard to build up over the years. Embarasing photos or insinuating documents.
Breach of privacy laws can mean massive financial penalties by authorities, lawsuits, and potentially even jail time. And your reputation can flip from trusted authority to careless, untrustworthy people to avoid.
Stealth and Easy Use Enables Theft
USB storage devices – portable drives and mobile phones, enable in-person, local theft of data if they are allowed.
Theft happens in one of three ways:
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- The door is left OPEN – the invitation to take unprotected things
- An OUTSIDER breaks in – hacking and social engineering
- Someone INSIDE is the thief – you’re given access as a team member
Zero Trust Solution: Block USB
The heavy handed IT admin’s solution is to simply block all USB ports. No more connecting thumb drives, phones, or portable SSDs and HDDs. Blocking USB drive storage can close an overlooked door that few choose to secure. This follows the assumption that files copied or saved to extneral USB connected drives are suspect and not to be trusted. This closes a real and serious security hole. But it also can create a roadblock to work flow by denying USB connected devices that you WANT. So, really a more nuanced and complex strategy is what most people want. And it is what keeps IT admins from implementing it: complexity.
Let Aditi Zero Trust Do the Work
A much more practical path forward to secure your data, while allowing dyanmic workplaces and convenience is with Aditi Zero Trust. Data storage controls can regulate storage options by specific computer, workgroup, user, or even software program. Our set of tools allows us to deal with all of the complexity of enabling software functionality and workflow that you need while locking down and blocking everything else. Aditi Zero Trust is supported 24/7 and we are able to react to any new requests for software changes within a few minutes. So, you get the best overall security while keeping business flowing smoothly.