Employees are increasingly using portable storage devices
(PSDs), such as USB keys and external hard drives in the workplace.
With the attraction of PSDs user-friendly technical capabilities
and physical characteristics, and the advent of online
'cloud' storage facilities, such usage will inevitably
continue to expand. However, these technologies do not come without
some problems.
The use of PSDs makes businesses' information increasingly
susceptible to loss, theft and misuse. Of significant concern is
the increasing incidence of employees using PSDs to take and copy
from their employer private and business-sensitive information,
without authorisation. A number of recent cases in the US have
involved situations where former employees have taken thousands of
pages of highly sensitive and confidential documents on leaving
former workplaces.
