Meet our Customers
Thousands upon thousands of people world-wide choose to protect their privacy and sensitive information daily with BlockMaster technology.
BlockMaster USB Security Experts
manufacturing
"BlockMaster solutions are secure without being complicated. I can trust that my data is safe and available only to me."Björn Carlsson, IT security manager at SAPA group
professional services
"With a SafeConsoleReady Device I now feel confident to carry my sensitive data on a flash drive. It is a much more user friendly device than a standard USB with encryption."Onsite PC
healthcare
"We wanted a solution that would help reduce the number of service desk calls we get regarding issues with data storage."Aintree NHS Trust
telecom
"SafeConsoleReady Devices and SafeConsole are important because we handle a lot of extremely sensitive documents - if this information came in the wrong hands it could prove disastrous."3
Government
"SafeConsole comes in handy for keeping track of data."TWC Dallas
professional services
"SafeStick is well made and functions very well."IntraGlobe Inc.
engineering
"I like SafeConsoleReady Devices a lot and, being a security consultant, will recommend it to our customers as a means of safe portable storage."Holland
education
"SafeConsole and SafeConsoleReady Devices are important to allow backup of sensitive data."Community College of Vermont
education
"Working as a technical officer in the life science laboratory means varying our procurement and follow-ups of lab equipment, reagents and consumables. Some of these tasks need to be confidential according to the nature of our organization. SafeConsoleReady Device allow us to satisfy all these requirements."Singapore Polytechnic
healthcare
"We were impressed with SafeStick because of the level of security it offers, as well as its ease of use and value."NHS
government
"SafeConsoleReady Devices are important for our organization because the security of our data is vital."East Riding of Yorkshire Council
professional services
"The security of personal and sensitive data is of the utmost importance. That is why we use SafeConsoleReady Devices and SafeConsole USB Management."Arvato Government Services
professional services
"We handle over 100 companies’ IT environments and consequently handle critical information for all these environments. Working both in-house and at the customer site necessitates transporting sensitive information. With SafeConsoleReady Devices information can be transported in an easy and safe manner."Qbranch
NHS Secures Portable Data with SafeConsoleReady Secure USB Drives
Client: West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust
Challenge: Assure confidentiality & deliver on-demand access to critical patient records… fast
With annual costs approaching £100 billion, a constituency of over 60 million people and more than 1.5 million staff, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is, by any measure, a huge organisation. Put into a global context only the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Wal-Mart supermarket chain and Indian Railways directly employ more people.
Benefits
- Complete control of over 100,000 portable memory drives
- Reduced cost and complexity of device portfolio management
- Ease of use encouraging rapid adoption by non-technical users
- Increased culture of confidentiality across 100 NHS Trusts
The NHS' impact on the social and political lives of UK citizens is immense. While it may be a cliché, with such influence comes great responsibility. And nowhere is this more pertinent than in the management of patient data for the UK's entire population. Such protection is not only a legal and regulatory requirement, but a moral imperative.
Data Dilemma
It would be great to be able to simply store this data away behind complex, multi-million pound security systems. To lock it down and deny access. But this, of course, is simply not an option.
In common with every business across the globe, from local retailers to international financial giants, customer data is the lifeblood of any enterprise and must be put to work every single day. For the NHS, this means providing critical patient records to healthcare professionals on-demand, while guaranteeing the highest level of information integrity. No small task indeed.
Mobile Challenge
With such huge numbers of staff, from hospital-based doctors and physiotherapists to mobile paramedics and remote General Practitioners, assuring secure access is critical. This is a well documented challenge and one in which the NHS has spent £millions successfully addressing over the years.
However, the need to mobilise information in line with new working practices and the corresponding proliferation of mobile devices in today's NHS is changing the nature of the challenge. Lost laptops and misplaced USB memory sticks full of sensitive patient data are now very real concerns.
Disappearing Data
The theft of six laptops from the St George's Healthcare NHS Trust containing information on 20,000 patients back in 2008 is a clear example. More recently, in July 2009, a laptop containing the personal and medical details of 2000 urology patients disappeared from a locked office at Broomfield Hospital in the UK. Indeed, over the past two months alone there have been data losses reported in East Cheshire NHS Trust and Imperial College NHS Trust in London.
NHS Take Action
So, in an effort to secure confidential data while delivering fast data access for mobile health professionals, the NHS began an in-depth procurement programme that led to the selection of BlockMaster – and the deployment of 100,000 of its SafeStick USB flash drives right across the Health Service network.
According to Robert Howorth, Senior Technical Architect, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust: "The security of patient data is of paramount importance to us so we needed a device that could provide complete protection against theft or loss. We also wanted the peace of mind that devices could be centrally managed, locking down and wiping data should a device be compromised."
And that is just what they got. Password protected and featuring military grade encryption, SafeStick assures health professionals have complete information integrity on the move. Crucially, the NHS is also using BlockMaster's SafeConsole management tool. This allows hospital administrators to gain complete visibility and control of their SafeStick portfolio – to remotely track, manage and enforce acceptable use policy for every single drive, anywhere in the county.
Flexibility as Standard
The demand for information mobility across the NHS is as varied as its departments. For example, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust is one of over 100 hospitals utilising BlockMaster. Here, SafeConsoleReady Devices are being used throughout the hospital, from the administrative centres to the wards. And in this latter scenario SafeStick's robust design allows the stick to be dropped, stepped on or even completely immersed in water – making it a favourite of nurses and doctors on shift. Crucially, its time controlled 'locking' mechanism means patient confidentially is assured – even in the busiest and most public of places.
Quick and Easy
Howorth from West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust: "SafeConsole and SafeSticks are so simple to use, which increases adoption and provides reassurance that data is protected no matter where it is."
Data Control
Because each SafeConsoleReady Device is assigned to a specific user (through SafeConsole), incidence of lost devices are infrequent. A recent study from BlockMaster has shown that linking the device to the user encourages a much greater understanding of security and fosters a sense of increased responsibility. The results are impressive: loss rates for unsecured devices can run at up to 66% while SafeStick loss rates can be as low as 5%.
And there's a 'cost upside' too. By enabling complete lifecycle management, SafeConsole allows sticks to be reset and reassigned, while lost and forgotten passwords can be changed while the devices are 'in the field'. This significantly increases convenience and assures high volumes of devices can be managed simply and cost effectively.