Today’s Tip addresses one of the unsung heroes of data transfer and storage – the USB thumb or jump drive. Though many users have moved away from this technology to external hard drives and storage in the cloud, there are still many – like me – who use them for quick backups of small files or to update printer configurations.
Like many technologies, convenience and security collide in the USB jump drive. They are compact and offer, surprisingly, a large amount of storage space at a relatively low cost. They are easy to transport.
Businesses, though, realized a while ago that USB jump drives were a security risk because they can be used by insiders to exfiltrate data and also spread malware. Consumers discovered they were easily lost or damaged.
If you are still using this technology, I want you to ask yourself three questions today:
- Do you know where all of your drives are located?
- Are they encrypted?
- Is it time to consider an alternate storage solution so you can increase your cybersecurity posture?