The Connecticut State Teachers Retirement Board notified teachers last week that it’s missing a USB flash drive containing personal data.  Fortunately, proper security procedures appear to have been in place and the data on the device was encrypted.

“We have numerous controls in place so that financial transactions are properly authorized and executed and have enhanced our internal procedures over the physical control of flash drives,” according to the letter, which was signed by Darlene Perez, administrator of the retirement board.

In Connecticut, data breach notifications are required under General Statute 36a-701(b).  This law only applies to data that “has not been secured by encryption or by any other method or technology that renders the personal information unreadable or unusable”.

Does your state have a data breach notification law?

Data Security

Courtesy of CRN.

A number of these incidents involve laptops or USB hard drives.  The rule of thumb should be:  If it’s portable, it’s easy to steal.

Data Security

The Kanguru Remote Management Console - Cloud Edition was recently reviewed at eSecurityPlanet.com.  We’d like to thank Lisa Phifer for thoroughly testing the platform and giving us great feedback and suggestions.  While this review provides a helpful tour of the platform, Kanguru is ready to help you evaluate for yourself and “try before you buy”.

 We would also like to respond to some of the feedback and give additional details where it might be helpful.

• To clarify pricing:  KRMC Cloud retails for $19.95 per drive per year, with volume licensing options available.  Optional BitDefender anti-virus renewal is $7.95 per drive per year.
• Linux and Mac OS compatibility will be available soon for Defender Elite flash drives.  This functionality will be added to existing hardware through a secure remote software update.
• Automatic license assignment is available for centralized provisioning.
• The ability to deactivate and disable onboard AV without Kanguru’s help will soon be available as a provisioning option.
• A number of the “wish items” are available in the more full-featured Enterprise version of KRMC.

Data Security, Portable Storage

While Non-Profits may operate under budget constraints, they still require high-end technology solutions to meet their information security requirements.  Kanguru is now offering discounted pricing on Defender and Defender Pro secure USB flash drives for Educational and other Non-Profit institutions.

Many Non-Profits handle and store sensitive information on clients, patients, students and employees.  These organizations may be subject to State Data Breach Laws, HIPAA or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  The Kanguru Defender product line is designed to be a simple, cost effective solution for securing portable data and complying with applicable regulations.  Contact Kanguru or your preferred Reseller for information on discounted pricing.

Data Security, Portable Storage

Computer Weekly reports on a poll taken at Infosecurity Europe 2010 conference, where over half of the IT professionals surveyed do not encrypt USB sticks used for company data.  This is a concerning result, given that these attendees focus their careers on information security.  Imagine how the general population handles sensitive data.

The UK Information Commisioners Office is cracking down, but will that be enough?

The ICO has warned that it will not hesitate to impose fines of up to £500,000 on organisations found guilty of serious breaches of personal data.

But privacy and legal experts have said the bigger fines introduced in April may still not be big enough to be taken seriously by big business.

Data Security, Portable Storage

Kanguru is expanding its hardware-encrypted USB Flash Drive product line to include lower cost options for corporations, non-profits and individual users.  Based on the Kanguru Defender Elite architecture, the new Defender V2 and Defender Basic drives offer strong 256-bit AES hardware encryption and integrated malware protection.  While the FIPS 140-2 certified Elite model is designed for Government and high-end Enterprise users, the V2 and Basic models are designed to meet the needs of a wide array of organizations.

The Defender V2 is available now and the Defender Basic is coming soon.  Read our full announcement here.

To make room for these new models, we have just cut prices on our previous generation Defender and Defender Pro models.  ** While supplies last **

Data Security, Portable Storage

The California Dept of Public Health has fined five hospitals for failing to prevent unauthorized access to patient’s medical information.

CDPH assessed the penalties under new California legislation intended to protect the confidentiality of medical records. Under the law, an administrative penalty of $25,000 may be assessed against a medical facility for the breach of each patient’s medical information. A penalty of up to $17,500 is added for each subsequent breach of each patient’s medical information.

Penalties are also increasing at the Federal level thanks to last year’s HITECH Act.  Enforcement of the new legislation started earlier this year.

Data Security

If you own a Defender Elite flash drive, adding Kanguru’s web-based remote management is quick, easy and inexpensive.  Just follow these steps:

1.  Click “Reset to factory default” and run the setup wizard.  (Be sure to backup your data.)

2.  Select “Enable KRMC Cloud”:

If this option does not appear, you may need to update to a newer Defender Elite version.  Update your drive when prompted or go to http://support.kanguru.com to download a free update tool.

3.  Purchase a KRMC Cloud license at Kanguru.com or contact your Kanguru Reseller for volume purchasing information.

KRMC Cloud allows you to manage your Defender Elite flash drives anywhere in the world.  As an administrator you can manage passwords, enforce security policies and remotely disable/delete lost drives.

Data Security, Portable Storage

Kanguru is proud to announce a new partnership with OPTIMAL System-Beratung that will make Kanguru Secure USB Flash Drives available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

OPTIMAL, based in Aachen, Germany, has extensive experience distributing system management and security products.  View today’s press release (German) for additional details on the partnership.

Uncategorized

Kanguru and Absolute ID are partnering to deliver the “RocIT Defender Elite” flash drive, which implements a virtual machine on a secure USB flash drive.  The device allows you to boot directly to an OS on the stick rather than using the computer’s hard drive. 

Applications include:

• Accessing the corporate network or other sensitive information from an untrusted machine
• Enabling road warriors to carry full desktop, applications and files in their pocket
• Implementing continuity plans and disaster recovery
• Allowing telecommuters to work anywhere without issuing a laptop

For more information, see the full press release.

Data Security, Portable Storage