The Pentagon announced last week the ban of USB sticks within it’s organizations. As part of the ban, the Pentagon is collecting all USB drives purchased or provided to department workers. The motivating factor was a global virus the Pentagon was exposed to.
Not much information was collected about what type of virus or the extent to damage, but must be bad enough to initiate a global ban.
Military leaders have consistently warned of potential threats from a variety of sources including other countries – such as China – along with other self-styled cyber-vigilantes and terrorists.
The issue has also been of concern at the Department of Homeland Security. A September audit by the DHS Inspector General recommended that the agency implement greater procedures to ensure that only authorized computer flash drives or other storage devices can be connected to the network there and that an inventory of those devices be set up.
Finally, the Pentagon was quick to point their government agency isn’t the only institution having problems, but many companies and corporations are concerned about the potential security risks of USB drives, their data load size and their small size. It’s a feed ground for malice opportunity.
Source: Associated Press.
