08 June 2006

Removable media security time bomb

Over half of UK employees are downloading corporate information onto their memory sticks, compared with 31% last year, according to a ‘Removable Media in the Workplace’ survey. The study, conducted by Pointsec, indicates that removable media devices such as media players, memory sticks and USB flash drives are now routinely with scant regard to security.

The survey found that two-thirds of IT professionals who use removable media themselves admitted that they did not protect them with encryption.

The survey was conducted among 248 IT professionals during Infosecurity Europe 2006. It showed that:

• 12% of organizations ban the use of removable media devices in the workplace.
• 21% of removable devices in the workplace are secured with passwords or encryption.
• 65% of those surveyed were aware of the potential danger that removable media presents.
• 4% of the IT professionals interviewed felt that the best form of defense against loss or theft was to keep the device in their pocket. One conscientious soul slept with his USB stick around his neck.

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