The Thumb-Size Answer to Damage and Data Breach

Consider the lowly USB port. Rapidly, we came to take it for granted. There is probably at least one USB port within easy reach, even as you read this. For many, the USB port now represents nothing more profound than the old-time AC power plug, with its two prongs, its baseboard outlets, and proliferating power strips. The USB port has become so commonplace that, every day, people thoughtlessly plug a mobile device into the USB port of their at-work computer, just to charge it, or maybe to sync contacts or even personal email.

In the absence of USB locks, a comprehensive report on 2018 cybersecurity threats said, “People-centered threats define the landscape.” The report itself is titled “The Human Factor,” because casual contamination is at least as large a threat as hacking or sabotage to the digital foundation of the information age. This is just the beginning of the many reasons why USB locks must become as universal as the ports themselves.

The complex capability of the USB connection is thoroughly overlooked. In such a tiny space, the USB type A port has remained the standard port of entry as USB continues to push for data transfer rates only dreamed of a few years ago. The engineering is what professionals call “elegant” because of the genius in its directness and its ability to accomplish so much in so little space. The sheer sophistication of the USB connection is as vastly under-appreciated as it is vastly unprotected, because the deployment of effective USB locks is in its infancy.

USB locks are the answer to at least three massive threats to the security of the vital data networks and information systems that make efficient operation, business success, private enterprise, and public service possible today. The stakes are so high that it is truly remarkable that USB locks are not yet seen everywhere.

At Least Three Kinds of Threats That USB Locks Can Mitigate

The first threat is the most widespread – casual contamination. Personal mobile devices can be counted on to collect every form of virus, malware, and antagonistic program on the Web. We’ve called them a veritable Petri dish of contaminating elements. Yet, in the absence of USB locks, workplace data networks are exposed to them every single day. Human nature appears to involve a degree of denial – “My phone couldn’t possibly be a carrier of that.” As a result, your vital systems at work are open to everything that floats on the Web and in the microwave spectrum today.

How much less stress would be on the many, many program and software attempts to provide cybersecurity, if only USB locks were used to make the physical ports and connectors of our systems not such good sources of contamination in the first place? Because online “defense” measures are mostly reactive, rather than preventative, wouldn’t it make sense to stop the incursion before it happens? That’s what USB locks are designed to do.

The second threat category involves malware that was, strangely, developed originally just to “show off.” Though at least 14 viruses were introduced to the Web before it, 1992’s Michelangelo virus, launched on the artist’s birthday, was the first to become famous. The Michelangelo virus was expected to wipe the information from millions of computers worldwide, precipitating a digital apocalypse. Fortunately, the aftermath proved to be minimal, and yet each year on March 6, it is programmed to deploy again. Fortunately, this annual “observance” arrives on adequately prepared counterprogramming nowadays.

Now, perhaps more interesting even than the artistic reference and annual rebirth of Michelangelo is the fact that this, and other early virus attacks, apparently had no other purpose than to demonstrate the capability of the hackers who launched them, disrupting operations to seize attention. Theorists have speculated that hackers were interested also in exploring artificial life and evolutionary algorithms. But the observation that would have been built into such a line of study has not been observed. It’s hard to view many of the famous, early virus attacks as much more than a new way to say, “Look at me.”

The third threat comes from specific, pernicious assaults, deployed on “innocent” thumb drives to inflict damage and delay to the system they attack. The most famous and impactful cyber-attacks in history have been inflicted this way, and research projects demonstrate that even the most qualified, professional, well-indoctrinated associates hardly hesitate to plug an unknown USB flash drive into a port at work when USB locks are not in use.

Where to Find the Right USB Locks

At The Connectivity Center, our mission is to guard the ports and connectors where the most damaging and historically impactful cyber-attacks were perpetrated, the physical points of entry that turn PCs into vital information systems. Our Smart Keeper collection of USB locks, as well as other computer and laptop security devices, permit the access that makes your system so vital to operations, while still providing you with the vital network security you require.

In addition to securing your USB ports and network connections with USB locks, our Link Lock connectors and the Link Lock Hub serve to lock your devices so that they cannot be removed without authorized access. You’ll find solutions by the hundreds from The Connectivity Center, including a variety of locking 4K high-speed cables. We offer two kinds of keys for unlocking them, the Enterprise and Professional series of the Smart Keeper USB Port Lock Key.

The Professional Series key comprises an ergonomic, retractable housing with anti-static rubber grip, LED light for low visibility work areas, and dual-retractors – main and peripheral – for access to any angle of installation, offering effective control for reaching port locks in confined spaces. Key patterns are strictly controlled, yet you can order duplicate keys to suit your own security authorization structure.

The flow of data, uncontaminated and with controlled access, is the life blood of businesses large and small, and agencies and enterprises of every kind, including the systems of power generation, energy distribution, water purification and supply, transportation, and all the systems that support the lives we live today. This is what we provide at The Connectivity Center. The Smart Keeper collection of USB locks, the locking USB connector, and the lockable USB key are some examples of the comprehensive collection of computer security devices we have carefully curated here to offer you, from our unique perspective and experience.