USB technology has been around for quite some time and USB hard drives and flash drives have become part of our everyday lives to transfer files, create back-ups, and share information with others.
We would like to share with you some helpful tips to help you keep your USB device secure:
- Never plug in a USB found on the ground, instead report it to the IT HelpDesk
- Encrypt your USB, that way data on it cannot be accessed or manipulated if it is lost or stolen
- In Windows you can use BitLocker and in Mac you can right click and select ‘Encrypt’
- Always run an anti-virus scan when plugging a USB drive into your machine, even if it is new.
- Do not leave your USB device plugged into the machine if you are in a public place. It can be easily removed.
- KAUST offers a multitude of storage solutions through the ‘cloud’ such as KAUST provided services SharePoint, Google Drive, and Office 365 OneDrive offered through your KAUST accounts.
- We discourage the storing of KAUST research and confidential data on your personal cloud storage account.
Mobile Devices and USBs:
Mobile devices not do only use USB to charge, it can also be used for data transfer. Your phone has a memory card (or several) which uses the same technology used in USB flash drives. Once you connect your phone to a USB cable it may act just like a USB stick.
Please be aware of the following:
- Be careful when charging your phone at a public charging station unless you can see the USB cable directly connected to the wall socket.
- Be careful when charging your phone in a public taxi.
- Do not charge your phone via USB on a computer you do not own.
- Carry your own charging cable and power bank.
Even though USB is the most common way of transferring data, there are some other technologies such as FireWire and Thunderbolt for Apple that work in the same way; the same applies.
Regards,
KAUST Information Security Department
askinfosec@kaust.edu.sa