FrontRange Releases Endpoint Security

August 12, 2008: With data volumes growing exponentially and a myriad of miniature data storage devices running throughout modern enterprises, USB data theft is a growing problem, and one that companies such as FrontRange are attempting to address.

FrontRange has released a data theft tool to plug up security holes vulnerable to portable storage devices such as USB keys, smartcards and even phones and MP3 players.

The firm points its finger at lax business controls for data theft, particularly considering almost all of this happens at end points with portable devices.

“We estimate that 99 percent of data theft involving devices such as USB flash drives, MP3 players and other storage media goes undetected,” said Kevin J. Smith, vice president of products at FrontRange. “Many organisations – both in the public and private sectors – simply haven’t acknowledged the threat that comes from failing to control the flow of data to and from the corporate network via a PC’s USB port or other local connections.”

Thanks to its acquisition of Centennial Software in April 2008, FrontRange now offers DeviceWall endpoint security. The software can be configured to manage user and group access rights to different classes of portable devices, and provides a complete audit trail of all device connections and data transfers.

“We find that IT managers who install DeviceWall are surprised at just how many device connections occur on their network every single day,” said Smith. “Without a solution to automatically record and manage these attempted data transfers, IT and business managers simply have no visibility into not only what data is leaving the organization, but also what risks are being brought into the network.”

Comment on this story