NOW READ THIS
("Security Advisory")
Submitted by: Bill Hickey
NCVA List Master
NRT-0480 Flash Drives Threaten Security:
SanDisk has warned that IT managers are unaware of the extent to which unsecured
flash drives are being brought into their organizations, backing this with a new study
of corporate end-users and IT executives. The study found that 77% of corporate end-
users surveyed have admitted to using personal flash drives for work-related purposes.
However, when asked to estimate what percentage of the workforce uses personal flash
drives, corporate IT respondents said only 35%. Users meanwhile admitted that data
files most likely to be copied to a personal flash drive include customer records (25%),
financial information (17%), business plans (15%), employee records (13%), marketing
plans (13%), intellectual property (6%), and source code (6%). The survey highlights
that due to the highly portable nature of USB flash drives, they represent a significant
risk of data loss for enterprises. Approximately one in eight (12%) of corporate end-
users reported finding a flash drive in a public place. Additionally when asked to pick
the three most likely actions they would take if they found a flash drive in a public
place, 55% indicated they would view the data.
(TechWorld.com 13APR08)