A new article at Search Security, “How to secure USB thumb drives“, mentions the Kanguru Remote Management Console as a way for businesses to get a handle on their thumb drive fleets.  As the article notes, even small businesses need to consider the implications of portable devices holding massive amounts of company data.  Most states have breach notifications laws that apply to businesses of all sizes.

Kanguru Remote Management is compatible with the Kanguru Bio AES and Defender series flash drives.  Find out more here.

Data Security, Portable Storage

Last month the FTC cracked down on a mortgage company for violating the privacy rules in the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA).  A lack of information security measures is going to cost the company 10 years of audits.

Agent Genius has a good rundown on how GLBA affects financial institutions like banks, insurance companies, brokers, lenders and so on.  As the author notes, “financial institution” can be broadly interpreted.

Data encryption with the ability to log and audit should be a key part of any GLBA compliance plan.  Regulators want to see clear proof that information security policies are in place and are being enforced.

Data Security, Financial

As we have noted here in the past, the new HITECH legislation expands on HIPAA encryption requirements for health records and mandatory penalties for data breaches.  CSO Magazine outlines five steps that organizations should take to prepare for HITECH.

The article also touches on costs that go beyond regulatory penalties:

No doubt, the HITECH Act raises the stakes for a data breach. But regulations aside, data breaches can hurt your organization’s credibility and can carry huge medical and financial risks to the people whose data is lost.

Data Security, Healthcare

Kanguru has just released the next generation Duplication product!

The Kanguru Blu-Ray Duplicator is a high-speed, stand-alone duplication system capable of duplicating Blu Ray discs, DVDs and CDs.  A user friendly LCD and high speed SATA drives make it extremely fast and easy to use.  The LCD menu also enables you to perform tasks such as Compare, Copy & Compare, Test, Test & Copy, Mix Audio Tracks, Erase and Auto Copy.

More details and specifications will be available soon at www.kanguru.com.  Contact an authorized Kanguru reseller to order now.

UPDATED:  Product link

Data Backup, Duplication

In a recent interview with SC Magazine, Bloomberg’s head of IT security names “data loss” as the biggest concern regarding mobile devices in the enterprise.

Data loss events, especially ones which require an organization to notify the public, are expensive. Financial costs — along with reputation damage — can potentially destroy an organization.

With technology budgets coming under increased scrutiny during the economic slowdown, Mr. Lucca also discusses how to win a bigger share of the budget for mobile device security:

You have to position security as an enabler to the business.  If there is a perceived value in mobile productivity, your job is to enable the business to do so in a secure manner.

Central management of mobile devices also helps to justify the upfront investment.  Increased control can provide lower cost of ownership in the long run, in addition to improved security and accountability.

Data Security, Portable Storage

Over the past several years, many organizations have switched from basic USB flash drives to a standardized solution using secure flash drives that automatically encrypt data.  This move has been prompted by security concerns about data breaches, which now come with substantial financial penalties due to new regulations.  While the data is more secure, the organization may be adding burdens on the IT Helpdesk and support teams.  Users forget their passwords, employees come and go, and devices periodically need firmware updates.  Enter Kanguru Remote Management Console (KRMC), an IT Admin’s best friend.  KRMC was designed with these issues in mind, helping to ease the Helpdesk burden and reduce IT costs by centralizing the management on an organization’s entire fleet of Kanguru flash drives.

KRMC and Password Support

Forgotten passwords are a regular occurrence in most organizations - according to studies, 30% of all helpdesk calls are related to password resets.  With most password-protected flash drives, the user is out of luck and will lose their data.  Some secure flash drives provide the Admin with a tool to recover drives, but the Admin needs to have physical possession of the device or provide a reset code over the phone (time intensive and vulnerable to social engineering attacks).  KRMC establishes a secure communication link between the device and admin console, allowing the Helpdesk to reset a user password from any location.  Even if an Admin and User are on opposites sides of the globe, the Admin can remotely reset the password without ever touching the drive.

Lower cost of Ownership

Kanguru’s KRMC platform reduces overall support costs beyond user password management.  KRMC can remotely update administrator passwords, automatically change and enforce security policies, and push new firmware updates out to all devices.  When the Admin creates a new action, the drive will automatically connect and update itself the next time that it is plugged in.  Your IT support team can set it and forget it.  Full featured reporting and auditing tools provide a record of drive usage and admin actions.

While encrypted flash drives are making portable data more secure, Kanguru allows you to increase security without hurting the bottom line.

Data Security, Portable Storage

SC Magazine Data Breach Blog picked up this story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Virginia Commonwealth University is notifying 17,214 current and former students of a security breach that may have exposed their Social Security numbers.

It used to be common practice for universities to use Social Security numbers as Student ID’s.  Much of that data is still floating around on hard drives and storage devices throughout campus.  In this case it’s going to cost VCU a year’s worth of identity-theft insurance for all of those exposed records.

Data Security

Kanguru is now offering extended warranty plans on new Hard Drive and DVD Duplication units.  Plans will be 1-Year or 2-Year extensions.  The products have a 1-Year standard warranty, so coverage could be up to 3 years total.  We understand that customers want to protect their investments in IT equipment and that products and companies are judged over a lifetime of use.

Extended warranties are available up to 30 days after the purchase of your Duplicator.  Just contact Kanguru or your favorite reseller.

Duplication