Endpoint Security: Total Device Access Control

"Gone in Sixty Seconds"
The Executive Guide to Internal Data Theft

The Problem: Unauthorized Access

Identity theft, data loss, malware propagation and computer misuse are real risks facing every corporate network. That’s why organizations have spent millions protecting their email and internet gateways. But with USB memory sticks, media players, PDAs and other portable storage devices, now a common sight in offices, perimeter security solutions can’t manage the threat of internal security breaches at network endpoints.

The focus on external threats often means leaving the security ‘back door’ open to malicious or accidental security breaches from within the enterprise – research from the Gartner Group states 4 out of every 5 IT-related crimes (that’s 80%) are committed from within an organization.

While removable media devices are becoming increasingly smaller in size with larger storage capacities, in the wrong hands they can prove damaging to an organization.   A USB memory stick for example can hold up to 2GB of data, portable hard drives can store in excess of 100GB – ideal devices for the potential theft of data or introduction of viruses to the network.

The Solution: Taking Control

DeviceWall enables organizations to secure the network against the risks presented by portable storage devices by preventing the unauthorized connection of unwanted devices to company-owned PCs. DeviceWall makes it easy to create and enforce a security policy that determines which employees in the company should be able to access different classes of device. Any device type not explicitly permitted is automatically blocked.

DeviceWall allows firms to close the security ‘back door’ by actively managing the access rights to removable storage devices and stopping the unauthorized use of all common portable storage and wireless devices, such as:

• USB & Firewire mass storage devices
• PDAs, Blackberry devices and Smartphones
• MP3 players: iPods, media players
• CD, DVD and floppy diskette drives

DeviceWall allows the legitimate use of these devices by authorized staff – ensuring that business productivity is not affected – while actively guarding against the removal of data or the introduction of inappropriate or malicious content to the network.

By blocking only the devices that are considered a risk to the organization, DeviceWall offers a more intelligent alternative to total PC lockdown. Focusing on the different types of devices, rather than solely on the means of connection, means that DeviceWall can safely lock out all USB memory sticks without fear of blocking
USB-connected keyboards and mice. Similarly you can allow trusted users to read information from CDs, but not to write files from the network or PC to a CD-R.  DeviceWall also logs files moving on and off portable devices.

For laptops, DeviceWall can lock down wireless (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and IRDA) ports, preventing the unauthorized connection of company assets to unknown devices and networks.  DeviceWall also protects your mobile assets regardless of whether they are connected to the corporate network or not.

Educate, Enforce and Except

DeviceWall offers users a unique capability to operate in ‘silent’ or ‘high visibility’ modes. DeviceWall can be configured to run in the background with no user alerts, or in high visibility mode where the user is actively advised of security restrictions both at login and if an attempt is made to connect an unauthorized device.

No single policy can cover every real-life eventuality. As such, DeviceWall has a unique one-time policy exception facility that is fully controlled by the IT Admin function – even when the user has no way of connecting back to the Control Center. This is just one of the ways in which DeviceWall ensures it does not have a negative impact on business productivity.

Contact SMA today to learn more about DeviceWall.