When you're dealing with sensitive information, it is important that you prevent files from walking out your company door. The most common way that information is stolen is through a flash drive, a small USB device about the size of your thumb and easily concealed. Although you may trust your employees, taking the steps needed to block any open USB ports can prevent temptations to load data into a USB device. The problem with blocking all USB ports is that most keyboards and computer mice function through these ports. The answer to your security problems is to use a USB port blocker on the systems in your company.
Even if you feel that you can trust your employees, you should still take steps to block open USB ports, so that no one is tempted to load or download sensitive information. A USB port blocker is the solution to many computerized issues, for many different companies.
A common USB port blocker is the physical style blocker. A USB plug is color coded, and inserted in the USB port. The plug fits on the end of a key and the key is inserted in the USB port. All you need to do is click a button, and the plug can be removed from the key, locking the key in place to keep the USB port secure.
Another way to block USB ports, is to simply disable their use on your computers. Simply access the BIOS screen. You need to hit a certain key when you're firing up your computer. Once you're inside the BIOS system, then locate your USB ports and shut them down. While this disables all of your USB ports, this method still isn't 100 percent secure. If an employee knows how to access the BIOS system, they can easily turn the USB ports back on.
For a more destructive and permanent means of creating a USB port blocker, a widely used method is to simply remove the USB ports from the systems. USB ports can be easily removed by a technician. If the ports aren't present, they can't be used. This approach will leave open holes in your computer system though. Another way of permanent disabling USB ports is to fill them with epoxy glue; do this only when the system is off, and let the epoxy fully dry before the system is started again.
You might find that you'll need to leave a USB port or two open, so that you can use a mouse and a keyboard. You can deal with this issue by locking down any ports that you need to leave open. Use physical port locks to resolve this issue. These lock down your ports, while still allowing for their use.
Keeping the USB ports on your company's computers blocked will prevent any breaches of security for your company. It is important that you lock the current USB devices in place as well as block out any open USB ports in order to make your company's computers truly secure. Any port that is in use and not locked in place is a possible security breach waiting to happen.
Even if you feel that you can trust your employees, you should still take steps to block open USB ports, so that no one is tempted to load or download sensitive information. A USB port blocker is the solution to many computerized issues, for many different companies.
A common USB port blocker is the physical style blocker. A USB plug is color coded, and inserted in the USB port. The plug fits on the end of a key and the key is inserted in the USB port. All you need to do is click a button, and the plug can be removed from the key, locking the key in place to keep the USB port secure.
Another way to block USB ports, is to simply disable their use on your computers. Simply access the BIOS screen. You need to hit a certain key when you're firing up your computer. Once you're inside the BIOS system, then locate your USB ports and shut them down. While this disables all of your USB ports, this method still isn't 100 percent secure. If an employee knows how to access the BIOS system, they can easily turn the USB ports back on.
For a more destructive and permanent means of creating a USB port blocker, a widely used method is to simply remove the USB ports from the systems. USB ports can be easily removed by a technician. If the ports aren't present, they can't be used. This approach will leave open holes in your computer system though. Another way of permanent disabling USB ports is to fill them with epoxy glue; do this only when the system is off, and let the epoxy fully dry before the system is started again.
You might find that you'll need to leave a USB port or two open, so that you can use a mouse and a keyboard. You can deal with this issue by locking down any ports that you need to leave open. Use physical port locks to resolve this issue. These lock down your ports, while still allowing for their use.
Keeping the USB ports on your company's computers blocked will prevent any breaches of security for your company. It is important that you lock the current USB devices in place as well as block out any open USB ports in order to make your company's computers truly secure. Any port that is in use and not locked in place is a possible security breach waiting to happen.
About the Author:
Thank you to Bill Phrase and to Lindy-USA for help researching this topic. We also drew some information from this USB port security article.
No comments:
Post a Comment