Portable storage a threat to business? Reyna A. Florentino CIS 55 Section 613 E. Koffman October 25, 2006

Transitions… Floppy disk or diskette CD External Hard Drive USB flash drive

Demands… Businesses require more storage, as time has passed, USB flash drives have become the most effective and rapid way of storing data although the threats it poses.

Smaller USB Flash Drives have been created and this poses bigger threats on businesses. The following link takes you to a commercial where they demonstrate how small USB Flash Sticks are being made… Smaller and Smaller

What are the threats posed?  Devices can easily transfer viruses.  With the loss of these small devices valuable information can be exposed  Identity fraud  Information, can circulate through mainstream channels if in the wrong hands.  Uploading and downloading is very easy, therefore information can be taken quickly without consent.

Threatening devices  CDR- Requires a program in order to transfer data, but has limited storage…  Often permanent unless it is a CDRW which requires another specific program.  Usually carries viruses  Businesses can control its use by removing software necessary for file downloads.  Not really a threat anymore….

Threatening devices  USB Flash Memory  USB flash drives weigh about the same as a car key – in fact, some USB flash drives are so lightweight that hypothetically it could take 14 ants to carry one!  USB flash drives are about the size of a stick of gum.  USB flash drives currently can hold up to two gigs of data – that's over 650 three-minute songs (33 hours) recorded as MP3s or about three times the content of a standard compact disc.  If you share a computer, USB flash drives are a great way to store personal information – use them instead of the computer's hard drive.  According to some manufacturer's specifications, USB flash drives can maintain data for 10 years – in that same period you’ll probably have to replace your computer’s hard drive three times.

 Certain companies have to keep certain records condensed and portable devices are a threat to files like: Bank accounts Accounting ledgers Personal Information Hospitalization records and diseases Exposure?

They say… The growing transformations in the market for highly portable devices, where they facilitate the rapid transfer of data, raises serious questions about the opportunities for the liberation of corporate data, the potential for the transfer of destructive viruses and the serious threat of identity fraud following the loss of theft of such devices carrying personal details." Professor Michael Hulme, director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Technology and Changes.

Thoughts or solutions…  Businesses now have to come up with some type of software that will avoid the problems it faces with portable devices.  Eliminating the presence of USB Flash Drives, as well as any portable device like PDA’s or notebooks can make a business less mobilized.  Programs have been designed to avoid important data from being accessed by the wrong person.  The smaller these devices become, the easier it will be to obtain data from companies.