Free Lok-IT Software Tackles USB Security Problems

In an effort to help organizations reduce the risk of data breaches,
the LOK-IT USB Storage Device
Control software is available for free.

It prohibits use of
USB mass storage devices that are not on its whitelist.

Ponemon
Institute research has shown that the leading cause of data
breach is due to employee negligence. Employee negligence, which
includes the loss or theft of unencrypted data, accounts for 46% of
data breaches in healthcare organizations and 39% of data breaches
across all types of organizations.

By default, all LOK-IT Secure Flash Drive models are whitelisted.
Because all data stored through the software is encrypted and not
accessible without PIN entry via its onboard PIN-pad, loss of a drive
would not be considered a data breach or subject to HIPAA penalties.

"Frequently, our customers tell us that they wish they could
ensure that employees only saved portable data to LOK-IT. Although
enterprise endpoint solutions are available in the marketplace, we
wanted to provide a simple software that they could instantly
implement and eliminate the possibility of an employee negligently
saving confidential data to a non-secure USB flash drive,"
stated John Tate, EVP, systematic development group.

The free edition does not allow the whitelist to be modified, so only
certified secure flash drives can be used. The pro edition provides
the ability to add, remove and modify whitelist devices, as well as
the ability to import or export a whitelist. At this time, even the
pro edition is available to customers for no charge.

"Using LOK-IT USB drives along with the software will
absolutely reduce an organizations data breach risk. No question
about it," Tate continued. "This is something that
any organization can implement and within a week have reduced their
liability by potentially millions of dollars. The most recent
statistics from the Ponemon Institute state that the average cost to
an organization from a data breach is $5.5 million."

"Today it‘s conceivably not a matter of if a
university or healthcare organization will experience a cyber-attack
or a data breach, it s more a question of when, how costly and how
embarrassing it will prove to be. LOK-IT is one of the most effective
ways that an organization can limit their portable data security
risk," confirmed Christine Marciano, CEO, Cyber
Data Risk Managers LLC.

Any organization
that would like to utilize the software can download the free edition
from CNET’s site. It has been ranked as one of
the most popular in corporate security since its release.