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iPod, other storage devices pose corporate threat

updated 07:45 am EDT, Tue July 6, 2004

Portable storage threats

Portable storage devices, such as Apple's iPod, notes.

by MacNN Staff

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jjmann3
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2004

0

07/06, 08:01am | report spam | close Reply |
They can pry my iPod...

from my cold dead hands.

kdogg73
Dedicated MacNNer

Joined: Dec 2002

0

07/06, 08:07am | report spam | close Reply |
Didn't RTFA

Dammit! First the floppy disk and now this!? If I need to make a few bucks, please remind me to write about an obvious situation and recommend banning pockets to those who shop. This is all relative, and never will change. Portable data devices will always exist.

scottnichol
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 1999

0

07/06, 08:07am | report spam | close Reply |
this is not the problem

i'm sorry, but the iPod and similar devices are not the problem here (how about fixing the OS first, Mr. Gates?) so-called malicious code usually requires only a few hundred KB, not GBs to be toted around. 1.44MB floppies will do just fine. and in general, Outlook is much more efficient at distribution than an iPod.

besides, why would i need to connect it to a machine on a corporate network? that'd probably pose more of a risk to transporting a virus back to my home (if i actually allowed windows on my home network!)

andrewhicks
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 2003

0

07/06, 08:10am | report spam | close Reply |
Quantity?

Does anyone know how many iPods there are compared to portable USB drives, CD's DVD's and (for PCs) floppy drives?

Corporations should have good network security. Now there's sound advice!!

chulitomio
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: May 2004

0

07/06, 08:23am | report spam | close Reply |
Quality?

What would be neat is if people were generally honest and we didn't have to worry about this stuff.

dreilly1
Mac Elite

Joined: Sep 2000

0

07/06, 08:36am | report spam | close Reply |
virus checkers, anyone?

All you need is a decent virus checker and you could make this problem (mostly) go away. There's still a chance that someone could escort confidential information out of the building, but if you're doing your job everyone with access to that has signed an NDA anyway, and knows they shouldn't be doing that.

After all, someone intending to do harm can still burn a virus onto a CD-ROM and go nuts. And someone intending to steal documents can usually find a computer with a CD-RW and take them if they have access in the first place -- the CD-RW or iPod itself doesn't give you access.

My USB dongle has saved my behind more than once and I can make a clear business justification for being allowed to keep it.

n8910
Junior Member

Joined: Sep 2000

0

07/06, 08:49am | report spam | close Reply |
Portable devices

An iPod is not a security threat if it is never plugged into a corporate mac or pc. Besides the bigger threats are CD/DVD (possibly burned by unassuming vendors, or people with malicious intent), palm pilots, floppy disks, portable usb devices (keys), any portable computer, etc..

The better security advice would be to not to allow any WINDOWS OS running machines on the corporate network.

zenjohn
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2004

0

07/06, 08:52am | report spam | close Reply |
If you ban iPods then...

you must ban: (for possible introduction of malicious code) CDs, DVDs, Floppies, USB keys, all bluetooth devices including PDAs, Pocket PCs, and cell phones. To prevent data going out, besides banning all of the devices listed above, all burning drives must be removed from systems. Also all devices (USB mice/keyboards) must be epoxies in, and all other external ports filled in or removed and the cases locked.

macbarry
Junior Member

Joined: Aug 2002

0

07/06, 09:16am | report spam | close Reply |
Slammers

Is this just another lame attempt to slam the success of the iPod or just a way for the Gartner research firm to generate some free pr from a hot topic?

eldarkus
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Feb 2004

0

07/06, 09:21am | report spam | close Reply |
well, then...

if iPods are such a big risk, we should also ban people with photographic memory. They are an even bigger risk since they do not have to connect to the machine itself!

Devices aren't the issue. People are.

If someone really wants to accomplish something, they will do it. 100% safety is an illusion, folks. I'll leave you with a famous quote!

"The only secure computer is one that's unplugged,
locked in a safe, and buried 20 feet under the ground
in a secret location... and I'm not even too sure about
that one"
-Dennis Hughes, FBI

chas_m
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2001

0

07/06, 10:01am | report spam | close Reply |
Corporations v. People

Once again, the message from Gartner is clear: People are the problem.
Phht.

z10n
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 2003

0

07/06, 10:29am | report spam | close Reply |
Yup

"Devices aren't the issue. People are."

Exactly. When will people stop blaming the device for causing all their problems? It's people the make the decision to steal, corrupt, virus-infect, etc. As an employer, you take a risk when you hire someone that they will not steal your IP, not hack your network, etc. If you don't trust a person, you shouldn't hire them. Because if they REALLY want to steal your IP, they are going to find a way to do it, regardless of any technological protections you put in place.

There are ways to stop this of course- some drastic, others invasive. Like spying on your employees. Or removing floppy/CD drives. I work for a government contractor, and the classified computers aren't even connected to the internet (so you can't email files, or download any malacious software). There's a price you pay by doing all of this though- it's called hostile working environment. Piss your employees off enough, and they will leave. So you're always going to be dealing with a ballancing act.

That aside, I expect more and more handheld devices to be banned from corporations afraid of what their employees will do with them. To steal IP before, you would have to suspiciously carry hardcopy documents out of the building. Not any more- huge amounts of data can easily be concealed in a pocket. The situation gets even worse with wireless networks- with Bluetooth you can grab information and not even be physically located in the building.

Seriously though, do you REALLY need your iPod at work? Can't you just upload your songs one time on to your computer and play off of that? Hit: you probably should be WORKING instead of playing music ;-)

VadersCape
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Mar 2004

0

07/06, 10:56am | report spam | close Reply |
Not Only That ...

But as an article in the NYT points out, your stolen data won't even be recorded with lossless compression! Better press it directly to CD to be safe. :-)

Data has been ripped off from computer-using companies using the latest technology since the advent of punch cards, paper tape and magnetic tape. Oh yeah: and printers.

But at least all the fat cat CIOs who pay umpteen thousands of dollars for an annual subscription to Gartner reports got a special security bulletin from them in the mail today. (Last week's report reminded them to never walk into the room with all the computers and power off the ones without monitors since they obviously weren't being used.)

Nostromo
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 2001

0

07/06, 11:41am | report spam | close Reply |
corporate morons

The iPod is a threat to corporate America?

That's the BEST reason I can think of to own one!

LordJohnWhorfin
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2002

0

07/06, 12:04pm | report spam | close Reply |
Bwahahahaha

Must be obvious day on KFStupid, to quote Master Shake.
If anybody ever doubted Gartner was a bunch of bozos...

waffffffle
Mac Elite

Joined: Sep 2000

0

07/06, 12:06pm | report spam | close Reply |
FYI

Microsoft is one of Gartner's biggest customers. This single fact is why all of Gartner's public announcements are anti-Apple and pro-Microsoft, while many of their other findings that show an advantage to Apple products are kept quiet (such as the MacUser UK report that Gartner finds a lower cost of ownership for Macs in business, which has never been publicly announced by Gartner, but was certainly done).

testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2001

0

07/06, 12:35pm | report spam | close Reply |
Couple of things

First, it should be noted, as any conservative will tell you, "The iPod doesn't steal secrets, people with iPods do".

Second, this is all Apple's fault. This is where being cute without looking at the big picture/all ramifications comes back and bites them in the a**. They're going to get sued big time for this, you can be sure. Why? Easy. What do they say on the front of the iPod when you open it up? "Don't steal music". It doesn't say anything about company secrets. Once someone gets caught doing this, they'll sue apple for not telling them NOT to steal company secrets "But, your honor, they only told me not to steal music". (h***, if lawyers can sue a bike manufacturer because some idiot was riding the bike in the dark and was hit by a car, only to sue saying he wasn't told that he couldn't be seen at night, and win, h***, this is a slam dunk!).

Third, sounds like this report was brought on by the guy stealing the names at AOL. Sort of would've been nice to have been told this a couple of months ago.

Fourth, I NEED my iPod at work. I can't upload my songs to my work computer, because, well, its a work computer, not my computer. And I think there'd be a bloody corpse or two around here if I didn't have some way to drown out those freakin' open-mouth eaters I work with. Nothing makes my day more than hearing a co-worker sloshing through an apple or peach or a bag of chips.

Finally, this sounds like the kind of report an IT admin would love. Its got lots of suggestions for restrictions (IT guys love to restrict users) plus the need to spend more money on hardware and software solutions to prevent the copying of materials (well, unless the person has internet access and he just copies it via FTP or HTTP to some server someplace, or emails himself, or, well, you get the idea).

83caddy16v
Forum Regular

Joined: Sep 2000

0

07/06, 12:53pm | report spam | close Reply |
the sky is always falling

as someone else mentioned, they will have to ban all portable media types, no more DVD/CD Burners to backup data, someone could put a personal blank CD in the computer and steal sensitive corporate information.

and like eldarkus mentioned, its people that are the problem not the devices.

Todd Madson
Mac Elite

Joined: Apr 2000

0

07/06, 11:43pm | report spam | close Reply |
Ack.....

Freaking annoying. Ban everything. Ban everyone.
--
The last place I worked was still standardized on Windows NT and they
don't even have working USB.

It's yet another "Microsoft trying to pull the strings jazz" behind the
scenes again. Annoying idiots.

ronjamin
Baninated

Joined: May 2002

0

07/07, 09:57am | report spam | close Reply |
THis is dumb

Any network administrator that permits rogue hard drives to be attached successfully to a computer isnt doing his job. Many tools prevent hard disks from mounting. With MacOSX Server, you can restrict these things too, and I certianly know that Windows has these security restrictions.

I have to agree, If I wanted to steal something, I would just email it, its alot easier.

It must have been a slow new day for this report.

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