<s>
As	O
both	O
consumers	O
and	O
businesses	O
have	O
increased	O
demand	O
for	O
these	O
drives	O
,	O
manufacturers	O
are	O
producing	O
faster	O
devices	O
with	O
greater	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
capacities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
increasing	O
number	O
of	O
portable	O
devices	O
are	O
used	O
in	O
business	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
laptops	B-Device
,	O
notebooks	B-Device
,	O
personal	B-Application
digital	I-Application
assistants	I-Application
(	O
PDA	B-Application
)	O
,	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
and	O
other	O
mobile	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
large	O
storage	B-General_Concept
capacity	I-General_Concept
of	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
relative	O
to	O
their	O
small	O
size	O
and	O
low	O
cost	O
means	O
that	O
using	O
them	O
for	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
without	O
adequate	O
operational	O
and	O
logical	O
controls	O
may	O
pose	O
a	O
serious	O
threat	O
to	O
information	O
availability	O
,	O
confidentiality	O
and	O
integrity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Storage	O
:	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
are	O
hard	O
to	O
track	O
physically	O
,	O
being	O
stored	O
in	O
bags	O
,	O
backpacks	O
,	O
laptop	B-Device
cases	O
,	O
jackets	O
,	O
trouser	O
pockets	O
or	O
left	O
at	O
unattended	O
workstations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
days	O
of	O
computer	O
viruses	O
,	O
malware	O
,	O
and	O
spyware	O
,	O
the	O
primary	O
means	O
of	O
transmission	O
and	O
infection	O
was	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
perform	O
the	O
same	O
data	O
and	O
software	O
storage	O
and	O
transfer	O
role	O
as	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
often	O
used	O
to	O
transfer	O
files	O
between	O
computers	O
which	O
may	O
be	O
on	O
different	O
networks	O
,	O
in	O
different	O
offices	O
,	O
or	O
owned	O
by	O
different	O
people	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
study	O
found	O
that	O
26	O
percent	O
of	O
all	O
malware	O
infections	O
of	O
Windows	O
system	O
were	O
due	O
to	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
exploiting	O
the	O
AutoRun	O
feature	O
in	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
finding	O
was	O
in	O
line	O
with	O
other	O
statistics	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
monthly	O
reporting	O
of	O
most	O
commonly	O
detected	O
malware	O
by	O
antivirus	B-Application
company	O
ESET	O
,	O
which	O
lists	O
abuse	O
of	O
autorun.inf	O
as	O
first	O
among	O
the	O
top	O
ten	O
threats	O
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	O
autorun.inf	O
file	O
contains	O
information	O
on	O
programs	O
meant	O
to	O
run	O
automatically	O
when	O
removable	O
media	O
(	O
often	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
and	O
similar	O
devices	O
)	O
are	O
accessed	O
by	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
PC	I-Application
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
default	O
Autorun	O
setting	O
in	O
Windows	O
versions	O
prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
will	O
automatically	O
run	O
a	O
program	O
listed	O
in	O
the	O
autorun.inf	O
file	O
when	O
you	O
access	O
many	O
kinds	O
of	O
removable	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
common	O
approach	O
is	O
to	O
encrypt	O
the	O
data	O
for	O
storage	O
and	O
routinely	O
scan	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
for	O
computer	O
viruses	O
,	O
malware	O
and	O
spyware	O
with	O
an	O
antivirus	B-Application
program	I-Application
,	O
although	O
other	O
methods	O
are	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
solutions	O
such	O
as	O
BitLocker	O
,	O
DiskCryptor	O
and	O
the	O
popular	O
VeraCrypt	B-Operating_System
allow	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
a	O
USB	O
drive	O
to	O
be	O
encrypted	O
automatically	O
and	O
transparently	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
Enterprise	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
Ultimate	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
R2	I-Device
provide	O
USB	O
drive	O
encryption	O
using	O
BitLocker	O
to	O
Go	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
operating	O
system	O
has	O
provided	O
software	O
for	O
disc	O
data	O
encryption	O
since	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Panther	I-Operating_System
was	O
issued	O
in	O
2003	O
(	O
see	O
also	O
:	O
Disk	B-Application
Utility	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
commercial	O
environments	O
,	O
where	O
most	O
secure	B-Device
USB	I-Device
drives	I-Device
are	O
used	O
,	O
a	O
central/remote	O
management	O
system	O
may	O
provide	O
organizations	O
with	O
an	O
additional	O
level	O
of	O
IT	O
asset	O
control	O
,	O
significantly	O
reducing	O
the	O
risks	O
of	O
a	O
harmful	O
data	O
breach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
include	O
initial	O
user	O
deployment	O
and	O
ongoing	O
management	O
,	O
password	O
recovery	O
,	O
data	O
backup	O
,	O
remote	O
tracking	O
of	O
sensitive	O
data	O
and	O
termination	O
of	O
any	O
issued	O
secure	B-Device
USB	I-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
management	O
systems	O
are	O
available	O
as	O
software	B-Architecture
as	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
(	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
)	O
,	O
where	O
Internet	O
connectivity	O
is	O
allowed	O
,	O
or	O
as	O
behind-the-firewall	O
solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
using	O
an	O
app	O
on	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
,	O
Admins	O
can	O
manage	O
who	O
,	O
when	O
and	O
where	O
USB	O
devices	O
were	O
last	O
accessed	O
with	O
a	O
complete	O
audit	O
trail	O
.	O
</s>
