Media News Release
Recent Media Releases for BlockMaster
20/04/2010 - Careless Corporates Risk Data Breach Fines
London, UK 20th April, 2010 – BlockMaster (www.blockmastersecurity.com), a provider of secure USB flash drives, today announces that 42 per cent of employees believe a data breach would cost less than £10,000, 50 times less than what it could cost according to new Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) powers, which can fine firms up to £500,000 for losing data.
The survey, conducted amongst 130 Canary Wharf workers, by BlockMaster’s USBevolution Alert Team, also uncovered that 18 per cent of employees had lost a portable device within the last three years. This figure will undoubtedly continue to grow, with over half of UK employees (59 per cent) admitting to a careless attitude to corporate devices with personal technology valued more.
Anders Pettersson, CSO, BlockMaster Security, says: “It isn’t too surprising that employees were unaware of the implementation of the ICO data fines. However, it is shocking to learn that employees only consider there to be a cost involved in replacing a physical device, such as a laptop or USB drive. Data itself is far more valuable than the cost of a physical device, and whilst employees can take personal steps to avoid losing devices, orgainisations should also consider using technology to eliminate the threat in the first place.”
Other notable findings from the research include 61 per cent of respondents value personal items such as mobile phones over portable work devices solely because of the financial cost if lost.
Mike Bienvenu, Technical Director, Softek comments: “These responses demonstrate that there is a general opinion amongst the business workforce, that although losing business property can be an issue short term for them – for example they have to wait for a new phone to be delivered, long term they just aren’t considering what the value of the content is on the device and what the outside world could do with it.”
Pettersson continues: “We need to get the message across to organisations and employees that data is more than just a file stored on a device, it has a monetary value and could seriously harm an organisation if it got into the wrong hands.
“The ICO fines will bring this front of mind; however it won’t educate users on best practice and the ways to ensure data is safe. Only once organisations are aware of the total cost of losing data or have suffered a breach will they be willing to seek advice on how to protect themselves. This is an attitude we are trying to change with the USBevolution.”
For more information on the ICO data fines and how to educate employees on security best practice, please visit /www.blockmastersecurity.com/usbevolution/ or book a meeting at InfoSecurity Europe at www.blockmastersecurity.com/about/events/
Attendees of InfoSecurity Europe 2010 will also get the chance to upgrade their unsecure USB drive for a brand new SafeStick. Just look out for the USB drop off bin located on stand J80.
-Ends-
About BlockMaster
BlockMaster provides complete control of your USB drives. SafeStick® offers mandatory password protection and always-on encryption of all stored data.
SafeConsole® enforces management control over SafeStick USB drives on an enterprise scale with remote life-cycle management and device enhancement such as remote password recovery, customised password policy, audit for compliance, portable authentication tokens and secure portable application delivery.
SafeStick is available worldwide through distribution in over 40 countries and is trusted to serve the versatile security needs of Fortune Global 500 businesses, government agencies, police and military. Thousands upon thousands of people worldwide have made the switch and choose to protect their privacy and sensitive information with SafeStick.
About Softek Ltd
Softek is a UK value add distributor (VAD) for IT Security, Archiving and Storage solutions and services.
Softek's vast technical expertise, and customer service in the field of IT Security is legendary, providing a full range of training and support services to Reseller Partners comprising of ASP/MSP's, VAR's, Consultants and System Integrators.
Since inception in 1994, Softek has advocated a comprehensive approach to information security. http://www.softek.co.uk
The survey, conducted amongst 130 Canary Wharf workers, by BlockMaster’s USBevolution Alert Team, also uncovered that 18 per cent of employees had lost a portable device within the last three years. This figure will undoubtedly continue to grow, with over half of UK employees (59 per cent) admitting to a careless attitude to corporate devices with personal technology valued more.
Anders Pettersson, CSO, BlockMaster Security, says: “It isn’t too surprising that employees were unaware of the implementation of the ICO data fines. However, it is shocking to learn that employees only consider there to be a cost involved in replacing a physical device, such as a laptop or USB drive. Data itself is far more valuable than the cost of a physical device, and whilst employees can take personal steps to avoid losing devices, orgainisations should also consider using technology to eliminate the threat in the first place.”
Other notable findings from the research include 61 per cent of respondents value personal items such as mobile phones over portable work devices solely because of the financial cost if lost.
Mike Bienvenu, Technical Director, Softek comments: “These responses demonstrate that there is a general opinion amongst the business workforce, that although losing business property can be an issue short term for them – for example they have to wait for a new phone to be delivered, long term they just aren’t considering what the value of the content is on the device and what the outside world could do with it.”
Pettersson continues: “We need to get the message across to organisations and employees that data is more than just a file stored on a device, it has a monetary value and could seriously harm an organisation if it got into the wrong hands.
“The ICO fines will bring this front of mind; however it won’t educate users on best practice and the ways to ensure data is safe. Only once organisations are aware of the total cost of losing data or have suffered a breach will they be willing to seek advice on how to protect themselves. This is an attitude we are trying to change with the USBevolution.”
For more information on the ICO data fines and how to educate employees on security best practice, please visit /www.blockmastersecurity.com/usbevolution/ or book a meeting at InfoSecurity Europe at www.blockmastersecurity.com/about/events/
Attendees of InfoSecurity Europe 2010 will also get the chance to upgrade their unsecure USB drive for a brand new SafeStick. Just look out for the USB drop off bin located on stand J80.
-Ends-
About BlockMaster
BlockMaster provides complete control of your USB drives. SafeStick® offers mandatory password protection and always-on encryption of all stored data.
SafeConsole® enforces management control over SafeStick USB drives on an enterprise scale with remote life-cycle management and device enhancement such as remote password recovery, customised password policy, audit for compliance, portable authentication tokens and secure portable application delivery.
SafeStick is available worldwide through distribution in over 40 countries and is trusted to serve the versatile security needs of Fortune Global 500 businesses, government agencies, police and military. Thousands upon thousands of people worldwide have made the switch and choose to protect their privacy and sensitive information with SafeStick.
About Softek Ltd
Softek is a UK value add distributor (VAD) for IT Security, Archiving and Storage solutions and services.
Softek's vast technical expertise, and customer service in the field of IT Security is legendary, providing a full range of training and support services to Reseller Partners comprising of ASP/MSP's, VAR's, Consultants and System Integrators.
Since inception in 1994, Softek has advocated a comprehensive approach to information security. http://www.softek.co.uk
25/08/2009 - BlockMaster Jets Ahead With SuperSonic Secure USB Flash Drive
Release text updated 01/09/09
Super speed flash drive leaves other USBs in its dust at the Ferrari Maserati racing day
25 August 2009 – London, UK – BlockMaster (www.blockmastersecurity.com) a leading provider of secure removable data devices, today launches SafeStick SuperSonic, which is 5x faster than any other device in the market, enabling users to transfer files and information securely in just a few seconds.
SafeStick SuperSonic was put through its paces at the Ferrari Maserati Racing Day in Sweden on August 22nd, where BlockMaster zoomed around the track at speeds of up to 180 mph. SuperSonic was tagged on the fastest supercars in the world such as the Maserati MC12 FIA GT to mark the release of BlockMaster’s technological invention, which takes USB speeds to the max and AES256 hardware encryption further than it has ever gone before.
SafeStick SuperSonic revs up to 23Mbyte/s for write and 33Mbyte/s for read, providing lightening speed transfer of files. This move is designed to support the huge growth in rich media files, such as images and videos, being transferred onto USB flash drives for business use. It only takes between three and 15 seconds to load, jetting ahead of competitive devices, which take up to a minute to load every time they are plugged in.
Anders Pettersson, CSO, at BlockMaster said: “Unsecure portable devices are still being used as other more secure devices are often slugglish, which impacts user productivity. This means users just ‘take their chances,’ no matter what the corporate security policy says. SafeStick solves this problem as it provides access to files within seconds, so there is no hassle for the user and productivity levels remain high.
“The benchmark tests of SafeStick SuperSonic against other devices in the market shows it is the speed leader for data transfers. This combined with the optimised initialisation speeds makes it the super sports car of the USB world, combined with the protection of an army tank.”
SuperSonic is aggressively priced at £85 for a 4GB stick and £133 for an 8GB stick and available immediately. It comes with all the security of a standard SafeStick, including:
- Instantly secure portable data with always-on automatic hardware AES 256 CBC encryption
- Easy setup, flexible self-service deployment for larger organisations
- Tough and built to last metal exterior with epoxy potted tamper safe components inside
- Fastest start-up times and the best flash storage components
- Lock down if left behind using a adjustable timer lock
The device can be easily managed through SafeConsole, a web based management solution for managing, auditing, pushing files to, resetting passwords, and applying custom policies to all of an organisation’s SafeSticks wherever they are used around the world.
To get your hands on a 4GB SuperSonic SafeStick, please tweet #SuperSonic as many times as you like. You will be contacted at the start of September if you are one of the five lucky winners.
Alternatively if you’d like to get your hands on a 4GB or 8GB review unit, please contact [email protected].
-Ends-
About BlockMaster
BlockMaster provides complete control of portable data. From SafeStick, the smallest, fastest and most secure USB drive in the world, to SafeConsole, its enterprise class life-cycle management tool, BlockMaster is the first choice for organisations wishing to get their business information locked, loaded and on-the-move in seconds.
Available worldwide through distribution in over 40 countries, BlockMaster is trusted to support the USB security needs of Fortune 500 businesses, government agencies and emergency services. Capable of securing up to 64 GB of data, SafeStick® offers mandatory password protection and always-on encryption of all stored data. Easy to deploy, its unique SafeConsole® allows administrators to track, manage and enforce acceptable use policy for every single drive, anywhere in the world.
For more information please visit: www.blockmastersecurity.com
Super speed flash drive leaves other USBs in its dust at the Ferrari Maserati racing day
25 August 2009 – London, UK – BlockMaster (www.blockmastersecurity.com) a leading provider of secure removable data devices, today launches SafeStick SuperSonic, which is 5x faster than any other device in the market, enabling users to transfer files and information securely in just a few seconds.
SafeStick SuperSonic was put through its paces at the Ferrari Maserati Racing Day in Sweden on August 22nd, where BlockMaster zoomed around the track at speeds of up to 180 mph. SuperSonic was tagged on the fastest supercars in the world such as the Maserati MC12 FIA GT to mark the release of BlockMaster’s technological invention, which takes USB speeds to the max and AES256 hardware encryption further than it has ever gone before.
SafeStick SuperSonic revs up to 23Mbyte/s for write and 33Mbyte/s for read, providing lightening speed transfer of files. This move is designed to support the huge growth in rich media files, such as images and videos, being transferred onto USB flash drives for business use. It only takes between three and 15 seconds to load, jetting ahead of competitive devices, which take up to a minute to load every time they are plugged in.
Anders Pettersson, CSO, at BlockMaster said: “Unsecure portable devices are still being used as other more secure devices are often slugglish, which impacts user productivity. This means users just ‘take their chances,’ no matter what the corporate security policy says. SafeStick solves this problem as it provides access to files within seconds, so there is no hassle for the user and productivity levels remain high.
“The benchmark tests of SafeStick SuperSonic against other devices in the market shows it is the speed leader for data transfers. This combined with the optimised initialisation speeds makes it the super sports car of the USB world, combined with the protection of an army tank.”
SuperSonic is aggressively priced at £85 for a 4GB stick and £133 for an 8GB stick and available immediately. It comes with all the security of a standard SafeStick, including:
- Instantly secure portable data with always-on automatic hardware AES 256 CBC encryption
- Easy setup, flexible self-service deployment for larger organisations
- Tough and built to last metal exterior with epoxy potted tamper safe components inside
- Fastest start-up times and the best flash storage components
- Lock down if left behind using a adjustable timer lock
The device can be easily managed through SafeConsole, a web based management solution for managing, auditing, pushing files to, resetting passwords, and applying custom policies to all of an organisation’s SafeSticks wherever they are used around the world.
To get your hands on a 4GB SuperSonic SafeStick, please tweet #SuperSonic as many times as you like. You will be contacted at the start of September if you are one of the five lucky winners.
Alternatively if you’d like to get your hands on a 4GB or 8GB review unit, please contact [email protected].
-Ends-
About BlockMaster
BlockMaster provides complete control of portable data. From SafeStick, the smallest, fastest and most secure USB drive in the world, to SafeConsole, its enterprise class life-cycle management tool, BlockMaster is the first choice for organisations wishing to get their business information locked, loaded and on-the-move in seconds.
Available worldwide through distribution in over 40 countries, BlockMaster is trusted to support the USB security needs of Fortune 500 businesses, government agencies and emergency services. Capable of securing up to 64 GB of data, SafeStick® offers mandatory password protection and always-on encryption of all stored data. Easy to deploy, its unique SafeConsole® allows administrators to track, manage and enforce acceptable use policy for every single drive, anywhere in the world.
For more information please visit: www.blockmastersecurity.com