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RedCannon Reshapes USB Security with "Alchemy"By Pedro HernandezAugust 9, 2006
By now, everyone is well aware of the dangers that USB flash drives pose. Those tiny totables now come in capacities large enough to slurp a database or a directory packed with valuable IP or customer info. What's an administrator to do, strip search every employee? Instead, some flustered admins have been reportedly supergluing their USB ports and disabling USB via tweaks. RedCannon asks, why cut that functionality at all? Vimal Vaidya, RedCannon's founder, chairman and CEO, argues that organizations shouldn't even have to make that choice. Instead, they should embrace USB drives as a way to enhance security. The company this month debuted Keypoint Alchemy, a hardened, Linux-based 1U appliance sitting in the DMZ that can "transform any off-the-shelf flashdrive into a secure KeyPoint mobile storage vault," says Vaidya. And there's no circumventing the device's security since it "doesn't allow any access to the IP stack." In essence, the product capitalizes on the ubiquity of these flash drives and provides centrally managed, secure USB storage and remote network access for workers on any side of the corporate firewall. Keypoint Alchemy joins the company's other two software products, KeyPoint Vault and KeyPoint Access, which offer organizations flexibility of keeping their data from sneaking off their networks unencrypted and using those very drives to enhance security when an employee is working remotely. Rather than blocking access to flash drives outright, the appliance turns them into compliant devices via features found in the company's KeyPoint Vault and KeyPoint Access offerings. Once plugged into a desktop PC or workstation, the USB drive is loaded up with driverless encryption software, a password protected vault so to speak, and with a suite of apps that provide secure access back to network for on-the-road types. Keypoint Alchemy also provides a platform for pushing content, documents and applications onto the drives. This, says the firm, is handy for a variety of reasons, such as updated company materials or the latest versions of software. But perhaps the most compelling feature is the "ultra thin client" functionality that any run-of-the-mill USB drive can now provide. By loading up the drive with a secure computing environment, the product confronts the one area where even the best-laid policies tend to fall apart: outside the perimeter. A converted USB drive - or one of the out-of-the-box models provided by the company - can be equipped with the aforementioned file vault, along with Citrix clients, VPN, spyware scanning, web browsing and secure email -- all the ingredients for securely connecting with home base while traveling or at a public terminal. This alleviates misgivings about using offsite systems to perform work-related duties, even home PCs that have may have picked up some nasty spyware. Vaidya explains the process, "The enterprise user can take it with them, plug it into any PC and it auto-launches. Without installing software, it scans the PC to make sure its clean - finds it clean - and allows access to the enterprise backend." For added security, administrators have other options if a flash drive is lost or stolen. Besides encryption, the flash can also be configured to phone home, allowing the company to send a command that destroys the data on the drive. Additionally, the drives can be configured to take the same action if one too many unsuccessful password attempts have been made. Crisis averted. KeyPoint Alchemy wraps all of these functions and options into a directory server-friendly platform that centralizes the management of the drives, including password resets, and provides reporting and usage stats that can come in handy during compliance audits. Already, some novel uses have emerged that RedCannon hadn't predicted, such as disaster recovery. Companies can underestimate what it takes to bounce back from a disaster, says John Jefferies, Senior Marketing Director for RedCannon. During disaster recovery planning, they can get locked into a mentality of "saving our data, not how to keep going." With KeyPoint-enabled USB keys in hand, workers can resume work remotely and security, from nearly any Windows PC with an Internet connection. All this is partly made possible because of a shift in enterprise computing, says Vaidya. "Bottom line, everything is getting webified." To that end, KeyPoint Alchemy was designed to with the dual purpose of not only safeguarding data, but also workers that interface with web apps, plus the interactions and transactions that ensue. KeyPoint Alchemy is available now. Visit this RedCannon's website for more details.
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