ExactTrak has launched an ultra safe USB stick that aims to protect businesses from the biggest threat to its security – human error.
Security Guardian introduces to the USB stick a number of security features that have been available for a long time in other mobile devices, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets.
These features include GPS and GSM, remote wipe capabilities and the ability to turn the stick’s memory on or off, making accessing the data impossible without the right privileges. It can also supply a full audit trail and is compatible with all main AES 256 encryption products.
Management is provided from a centralised cloud-based console, from where users can track the location of the USB device and wipe the data if it has fallen into the wrong hands.
However the service also provides the ability to turn the memory on the device off, meaning it cannot be accessed unless the memory is reactivated. This can only be done through the management console. Effectively this turns the USB stick into a dumb device, protecting but not deleting the valuable data stored on it.
ExactTrak’s MD Norman Shaw told CBR this feature is particularly useful if the device has been lost but can still be recovered.
One version of the device, developed at the request of the UK Ministry of Defence, also features a James Bond-style capability to remotely destroy the memory. It works via a command that is sent to the device that delivers a high-voltage current which destroys the memory, rendering the device useless.
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There is also the capability for users to add in their own security features, such as the ability for data to be automatically deleted at a time set by the user.
The product will be pushed at local and central government or any business with mobile workers that need to carry sensitive data with them. The device will be available with either 16GB or 32GB storage and should cost £25 to £30 per month, depending on which services the customer signs up for, Shaw explained. It will be sold through partners rather than directly. The backend infrastructure will be hosted on Fujitsu’s Global Cloud Platform.
Despite the security features available on Security Guardian, Shaw says it is primarily a compliance service that the company is offering. The headlines over the last few years about the number of data breaches suggest the timing is right for this sort of product.
"With consumerisation and people using their own devices there is a huge amount of data being transported around. There is huge pressure from the Information Commissioner on companies to prove they can secure their data but with laptops owned by the individual that’s very difficult to do. Security Guardian can provide a full audit trail, which is important in proving you have robust data protection policies," Shaw said.
"We started off tracking laptops," added Shaw. "But then we switched to data because that’s what’s really important. Human error is the single biggest cause of data loss so that is what we’re protecting."
