DeviceCop
434 organisations reported data security breaches in 2009, up from 277 in 2008. By May 2010, there were 1,007 reported incidents... Companies breaking the rules will face fines from 2010
In today's data driven environment, nothing is more important than the information your company owns. Your staff are bringing mass storage devices into the office every day. However innocent their MP3 player may appear, it has the ability to transport vast quantities of sensitive company data out of the office and into the hands of your competitors.
The above may appear to be a little on the dramatic side, but it is happening all the time, possibly not quite as maliciously. Data theft is becoming easier than ever before. The proliferation of pocket sized mass storage devices is now making it possible to carry huge amounts of sensitive information undetected. The most popular devices are USB 'memory sticks' or 'dongles', up to 16GB can be purchased for under $20, and that's large enough to take your organisation's essential files.
With articles like 'Unacceptable' level of data loss (© 2009 BBC) becoming all too common and with the new Information Commissioner's Office regulations, make sure your organisation is safe, get DeviceCop.
The above may appear to be a little on the dramatic side, but it is happening all the time, possibly not quite as maliciously. Data theft is becoming easier than ever before. The proliferation of pocket sized mass storage devices is now making it possible to carry huge amounts of sensitive information undetected. The most popular devices are USB 'memory sticks' or 'dongles', up to 16GB can be purchased for under $20, and that's large enough to take your organisation's essential files.
With articles like 'Unacceptable' level of data loss (© 2009 BBC) becoming all too common and with the new Information Commissioner's Office regulations, make sure your organisation is safe, get DeviceCop.
One of your organisation's key traders has just been offered a lucrative position in another company. Detailed information of your trading methods and client portfolios will make him very welcome at the opposition, so he's planning to take the files with him. It's lunch time and the trader goes to a local store and buys a USB memory device. Back at his desk, he plugs his new USB memory stick into his PC. Windows recognises the device and makes it available as a disk drive on the system.
As he tries to start copying, the USB drive has disappeared and he is presented with an error message similar to this:
DeviceCop monitored the memory device being plugged in, compared the user and device type against your USB Storage rules and disabled the device. It also alerted you with the following information:
As he tries to start copying, the USB drive has disappeared and he is presented with an error message similar to this:
DeviceCop monitored the memory device being plugged in, compared the user and device type against your USB Storage rules and disabled the device. It also alerted you with the following information:
- Date and time it happened
- User name
- Machine name
- IP address
- Which port it was plugged in (if relevant)
- Exact device type including manufacturer (if available)
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The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data regulator, announced on 12th January 2010 that new powers designed to fine organisations responsible for security breaches are likely to come into effect on 6 April 2010. From this date forward, fines of up to £500,000 can be imposed on organisations for what are considered serious breaches of the UK's Data Protection Act 1998. Take a look at the ICO spreadsheet for a breakdown of the 1,007 security breaches reported by the end of May 2010.
Read the Inquirer (© 2010) article 'UK data protection watchdog gets teeth'. The article recommends that organisations build a culture of security best practice and common sense, underpinned by solid technologies that can deliver the level of security required by law and be able to cope with emerging threats.Having hard regulations and fines to make organisations focus on their data security should not be what this is about.
It makes sense to look after the information that an organisation uses to do its business with. Losing customer data invariably leads to losing customers.
It makes sense to look after the information that an organisation uses to do its business with. Losing customer data invariably leads to losing customers.
DeviceCop is a focused product that manages local devices. In most cases these are storage devices which could be anything from USB memory sticks, through Apple iPods to Digital Cameras. Typically, these are any device that can have a drive letter associated with it.
With DeviceCop, an IT group can quickly and efficiently contain this issue by turning off users' ability to use storage devices. Then, on a per user and device basis, they can give permission. Some rule examples:
An audit function reports back on all devices that have ever been connected into all PCs so that specific devices can be enabled or disabled, even if the device driver did not install correctly. For less than the price of a mouse per machine you can now protect one of your organisation's most valuable assets, it's information with DeviceCop.
With DeviceCop, an IT group can quickly and efficiently contain this issue by turning off users' ability to use storage devices. Then, on a per user and device basis, they can give permission. Some rule examples:
- Fred can use any SD card in his machine
- Joanna can only use a specific USB disk drive in her machine
- Everybody else may not use any removable devices at all
- By default, floppy and CD drives are disabled too.
An audit function reports back on all devices that have ever been connected into all PCs so that specific devices can be enabled or disabled, even if the device driver did not install correctly. For less than the price of a mouse per machine you can now protect one of your organisation's most valuable assets, it's information with DeviceCop.