USB thumb drives are convenient because of their small size and large storage capacity. These two characteristics, however, can be detrimental to an organization's network security. Assume that you are the chief information officer (CIO) of a large, multi-location organization. You are addressing the use of thumb drives on company-owned equipment. Briefly describe the steps you will take to protect your organization's security in the absence of banning USB devices altogether.

Here are a few questions to get you thinking, but please address other issues and/or concerns.

Will you allow employees to use personal USB devices on the company's systems, or will you mandate that they use only company-issued devices?

Will you disable all USB ports? If so, how?

Will you purchase software that monitors USB ports and that reports their use to a centralized database? Where will you find such software?