Flash drives with USB encryption offered by SanDisk Enterprises recently received the Common Criteria certification. The certification is a standard ISO with international recognition and is critical for government and military applications. Security issues such as password access, performance, encryption, attacks and usability are considered during the certification process. Flash drives utilizing USB encryption must meet security protocols to be considered for use by governmental or military organizations. These entities are very interested in using flash drives with USB encryption because without it their operating systems are vulnerable to many levels of attacks and ultimately the compromising of critical data.
USB Encryption Meets Security Needs
Corporate, government or military personnel using the flash drives with USB encryption want a unit that is both secure on both ends. Flash drives must also have a high degree of usability to remain an effective tool for those depending on them. SanDisk Enterprise produces a flash drive with ultra-fast transfer rates making their use for reading and writing data efficient. USB encryption offers added access and control for all transferred files by securely partitioning the files in the flash drive. A central management and control software program controls flash drives with USB encryption where they can be audited or terminated from the central control center.
An advantage for using a flash drive with USB encryption is that sometimes attacks on data are not to exploit the data but to corrupt it. This is attempted by uploading a virus through the flash drive with the intent of corrupting the host operating system. SanDisk Enterprises partners with McAfee a global security company which scans their flash drives with USB encryption for viruses with anti-malware software. It is known that sometimes flash drives are used to get the virus into the operating system and cause all kinds of corruption problems. A secure flash drive with USB encryption and virus protection will eliminate this kind of threat to the host operating system.
USB Encryption Hardware and Software
USB encryption system’s access and control are either hardware or software based. A major concern for the ongoing security of flash drives using USB encryption is maintaining the most secure access and control system. USB encryption is the first issue to consider; encryption is only as strong as the algorithm’s ability to produce random keys. The 256-bit AES algorithm is the best encryption available today for either hardware or software encryption applications. Those attempting to access confidential information should only be decrypted after they have been authenticated as authorized users. Sufficiently complex passwords will prevent many attempts to gain access to decryption.
USB encryption that is hardware based has proven itself to be the method of choice and the most secure. Hardware based encryption is most effective because the access keys are self contained in the secure flash drive. Software based encryption keys are often stored in temporary files on the hard drive and this makes them vulnerable and open to attack from inside the operating system. Those gaining access to the operating system may obtain passwords. Hardware based flash drives using USB encryption will also block the transferring or copying of data to an outside host, a technique commonly used when attempting to gain access to encryption keys illegally as well.