Kanguru is pleased to announce that it’s Kanguru Defender family of secure USB flash drives is now available through local distributors and resellers throughout the Asia-Pacific region.  Kanguru works with local partners to ensure that the security and manageability meet the requirements of a diverse user base.  Both government and private sector organizations in this region are turning to Kanguru to protect their mobile data from unauthorized use.

In Australia, Sydney-based distributor Bellridge Pty Limited can provide the full range of Kanguru Defender flash drives and the Kanguru Remote Management Console for central provisioning and control of remote devices.  Bellridge also has representatives in New Zealand.

Halodata International has launched the Kanguru product line in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as Indonesia through it’s PT Halodata Indonesia subsidiary.  Halodata is a security specialist that supplies a full range of hardware and software products for protecting your network and portable devices.

Data Security

In a July 15 memo to all Federal Agencies, OMB Director Jack Lew sent a reminder that Telework solutions must comply with security guidelines and protect sensitive government information.  Federal Computer Week highlights a few of the requirements, including data security and  protection from systems that are not under direct agency control.

The Telework initiative is meant to improve worker productivity, while reducing government overhead and costs.  It also adds business continuity in the event of an emergency or other event when employees can not reach the office.  The downside is that Administrators lose some control over the hardware and software being used by their workers.  Fears about security have resulted in slower than expected implementation of Telework policies.

To meet these security requirements, Kanguru and Absolute ID have designed the RocIT Defender Elite “Virtual System on a Stick” to enable Telework while still maintaining control over hardware and software.  The device is a bootable, encrypted USB flash drive that launches a secure virtual OS completely isolated from the host system.  The Administrator can lock down the OS and application settings with a golden image, and monitor the devices remotely using Kanguru Remote Management Console.  All data is hardware encrypted with FIPS 140-2 certified cryptography.  Contact Kanguru for more info on how RocIT Defender Elite can meet your Telework challenges.

Data Security, Government

US Government technology professionals are invited to visit Kanguru at FOSE 2011 next week at the Washington Convention Center (Booth # 800).  Come learn more about the Kanguru RocIT Defender Elite - our bootable, virtual PC on a flash drive.  The device features FIPS 140-2 encryption and DoD-tested virtual runtime environment.

We’ll also be displaying our Hard Drive, DVD and USB Duplication Equipment, as well as our next generation Secure USB storage products.  While you’re there, join our email list and receive a FOSE discount.

Register for an Expo Pass here.

Events, Government

A great little story came out a couple of weeks ago regarding the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Validation process which definitely bears repeating.  In the article, the author compares not using FIPS Validated cryptography to “opening a savings account at a bank without the FDIC’s $250K-per-account guarantee. You could do it, and it might work, but why take the risk when a safer option is available for no extra charge?” Read more…

Data Security, Government

Co-authored by Nate Cote and Emmett Jorgensen

Too often we, as security professionals, aren’t asking all of the right questions when evaluating a new product or service.   We’ve all heard of “256-bit AES” encryption and products secured with RSA keys of “x” size.  Encryption key sizes have become commonplace metrics for evaluating security products utilizing cryptography – and many times become one of the primary pieces of information that drives product adoption by an organization. A serious question we should be asking about cryptographic products, however, is related to the effectiveness of the Random Number Generator (RNG).

How many people truly gather any information on the randomness of the cryptography implemented in a product or module?  More specifically, is there any analysis of the effectiveness of the RNG?  This is, after all, the engine of the entire process and perhaps the most critical piece of a product using cryptographic functionality.  Unfortunately, this information is nearly never discussed since most people don’t understand the importance of RNG quality, and therefore don’t ask about it. Read more…

Data Security

Electronic medical records are the future, and the government is encouraging their adoption through the HITECH act.  InfoSecurity.com has analysis of the first phase of HITECH:

Phase I implementation (2011–2014) provides a graduated series of financial incentives to physicians and hospitals. At the same time, certain information security measures must be implemented along with the expanded use of electronic health records and information exchanges.

For healthcare facilities, these security measures include implementation of access control; data integrity; emergency management; encryption of data at rest, in motion, and removable media; identity proofing; log analysis and management; and system timeout.

Healthcare organizations are advised to use an encryption algorithm that meets FIPS 197 standards or better.  It’s important to ask your vendor about their encryption certifications, as not all password-protected devices are truly secure.

Data Security, Healthcare

Kanguru is pleased to announce that the Defender Elite encrypted USB flash drive is now undergoing evaluation for Common Criteria EAL2+.

Common Criteria is an internationally recognized security evaluation program developed to ensure an information technology product or service meets a variety of robust government security standards. There are currently 36 nations, worldwide, which mutually recognize the merits of the Common Criteria Standard.  Kanguru’s evaluation is being overseen by the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt fur Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI)).

“By undergoing the Common Criteria evaluation, we continue to position ourselves on top of the secure portable data storage industry.” said Don Brown, CEO of Kanguru. “Common Criteria, along with our fully manageable devices and current FIPS 140-2 Validations, distinguishes our products and services as the most secure, manageable and feature rich in the portable data storage industry.”

Read more.

Data Security, Portable Storage

It might be on a flash drive owned by a government employee and it probably isn’t encrypted.

KATU has the story of a lost flash drive containing social security numbers for about 300 Oregon Dept of Corrections employees.  It’s not clear whether the Dept had a security policy in place regarding portable storage.  These incidents are preventable with the right combination of technology and security policies.

Data Security, Portable Storage

While SanDisk has decided to abandon the Cruzer Enterprise drive and focus on basic flash memory, Kanguru continues to deliver a world-class security suite for USB Flash Drives.  The FIPS 140-2 certified Kanguru Defender Elite is now the only flash drive on the market that includes onboard virus/malware protection free-of-charge.

Kanguru is offering SanDisk Enterprise users a chance to transition to the Defender Elite and Kanguru Remote Management Console.  For a limited time, SanDisk customers can purchase Defender Elite and KRMC software at 20% off retail price.  We are also pleased to announce a free upgrade to the next available memory capacity!

Example:  Your organization owns 200 SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise 4GB drives and CMC management console.  You are eligible to purchase up to 200 Defender Elite 8GB drives and KRMC licenses at 20% off our 4GB price.

This offer is available through all authorized Kanguru reseller partners.  Contact us today for more information!

** Offer good through Dec 31, 2010

** Requires verification of SanDisk purchase

** Discount qty is unlimited.  Upgrade qty is limited to total number of Cruzer Enterprise drives owned.

Data Security

German IT distributor, OPTIMAL System-Beratung, was overwhelmed by visitors’ interest in the Kanguru Defender Elite at the it-sa security convention in Nuremberg, and the local press is beginning to take notice as well.

“The experts were particularly interested in the virtual operating system and enterprise-wide management of the sticks,” said Bert Rheinbach, managing director of OPTIMAL System-Beratung.

Read more:

Cartoon explains the most secure USB Stick in the world, Elektronik Praxis (german)

How the most secure USB flash drive in the world works, CRN.de (german)

Need translation tools?

Data Security, Portable Storage