Kanguru Blog: August 2023 Edited December 4, 2024
Let me introduce you to Sam. Sam is shuffling off to work. He hops off the bus and swiftly heads down Main Street, looking at his watch to assess the seconds he has left to get into the office and get settled. His mind is racing about the meeting that starts in 5 minutes, along with all of those phone calls he has to make today. As he disheveledly scurries down the sidewalk, he frisks his pockets to make sure he still has everything; wallet, mobile phone, keys… when suddenly he stops in shear terror. "Oh no, Where is my flash drive?" he laments. The blood drains from his face. His life flashes before his eyes as he mentally traces every step he took that morning. Sam sinks into full panic mode, “My entire life’s work is on that flash drive.”
Sam's case is not a unique one. Flash drives and other data storage devices are known for their simple, subtle conveniences, but the intrinsic value of the data on them might not be fully realized until after something bad happens.
Kanguru offers flexible secure data storage and resilient backup solutions for ideal data protection that can help protect your information in nearly every situation. Options are available to meet a wide variety of needs and budget.
Having a strong backup plan for your valuable data is one of the best things you can do for peace of mind. If we lived in a perfect world, it would not be necessary, but in this world of instability, it is essential. Flash drives do get lost, SSDs get stolen, hard drives can fail, and passwords can be forgotten. When it happens, it can be a very painful experience, that is, unless you have strong data protection and a good backup plan.
Whether you're working with an organization, or as an individual storing very important information on your own portable data storage drives, here are 5 resilient tips for data protection you can put in place along with a great backup plan for peace of mind:
- AES 256-Bit Hardware Encrypted Drives
- Self Service Password Management
- USBtoCloud® Encrypted Backup for Secure Drives
- Kanguru Remote Management Console™ (KRMC™)
- Customization of Kanguru Defender Secure Drives
1. Use Only Hardware Encrypted, Secure Data Storage Drives
The first thing you need to make sure of is that the storage device you choose to store the information on is encrypted, and you're not using some cheap, substandard, plastic unprotected thumb stick or hard drive. You want to ensure that your information is locked under military grade hardware encryption. If it is imperative that the information on the drive not get into the wrong hands of any unauthorized user, and the drive is ever lost or stolen, you at least have the assurance that the information is encrypted and cannot be accessed or exploited by anyone with bad intent. Kanguru Defender® secure flash drives, hard drives, SSDs and fingerprint access drives offer very powerful data security, and come in several flexible options to meet any budget, from everyday personal use - to government certified brute-force protection for top-security organizations. In addition, iStorage PIN Protected, secure devices provide exceptional security as well. If you travel in any way with data on flash drives or any other external data storage devices and your information is very important, you will want to make sure your information is on a secure hardware encrypted device to protect the data under all circumstances.
2. Self Service Password Management™ (SSPM™)
What if you forget your password? You could lose all access to your information forever if the password can’t be remembered. Even worse, If the password settings on your drive were limited to only allow a few password attempts, then you may only have a few tries before the drive shuts down and you could lose any chance of recovery. Remember, encrypted drives are designed with robust security to guarantee that no one can gain access to your information except you with your password. With Self Service Password Management (SSPM), Kanguru provides a secure way for you to reset your password and be able to quickly gain renewed access to your information easily.
3. Secure Backup With USBtoCloud®
Kanguru always highly-recommends that you have multiple secure backups and not limit your sensitive data to one particular location. USBtoCloud provides Kanguru Defender encrypted drive users with the option to securely backup their Defender drives to a preferred cloud storage provider under full AES 256-Bit encryption. Backup files can be uploaded to OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and many others.
All data in transit and in the cloud can be encrypted with a FIPS-compliant AES 256-Bit encryption engine included in the app, providing an additional level of security for data stored in the cloud.
If your drive is ever lost, stolen, or even if the device fails, you can quickly regain access and restore your information through the encrypted cloud backup file with USBtoCloud Encrypted Backup. Being an AES-256-Bit encrypted file also ensures that even if the cloud service provider was ever compromised, hackers still cannot access your information.
4. Kanguru Remote Management Console™ (KRMC™)
For organizations with several encrypted devices and would like to manage them, Kanguru Remote Management is an ideal way to manage the security of hardware encrypted device(s). Whether you have just one, or a thousand Defender drives in your organization, KRMC allows you to manage the drives. With KRMC, you can manage password settings, contact users, locate, wipe, and/or disable lost or stolen drives, and much more, providing exceptional protection for your secure devices. KRMC is a great tool for IT Administrators, and Data Security Officers for setting and enforcing strong security policies for an organization, but can also be an affordable way even small businesses can manage just a few drives for added protection. Self Service Password Management is included with KRMC as part of the package to ensure users always have access to their drive even if they forget the password. Another great feature of Kanguru Remote Management Console (KRMC) is that drives can be restricted for use with specific permissions limited only to certain domains, including online/offline permissions.
5. Customized Engraving for Defender Hardware Encrypted Drives
Customization of your secure USB drive is another significant way to help identify that the drive contains important information, providing a much better chance for the drive to be returned to you if it is ever lost. Kanguru Defender drives automatically come with a QR Code to help identify the serial number#, but you can also choose to add other information like logos, contact information, company names, etc. Additional Customization options are available that are ideal for high-security, endpoint environments. Customization with special engraving, contact information, or other identifiers could be one of the most effective ways to increase the chances that your lost drive will be returned.
So, What About Sam?
Referring back to Sam, if his flash drive was a Defender Hardware Encrypted USB flash drive, he can rest assured that his information is virtually inaccessible to anyone else, no matter how hard someone may try, and can't be used for nefarious purposes. Additionally, since Kanguru Defender® hardware encrypted drives are encoded with a serial number# and QR Code, chances are pretty good that someone might actually try to return the drive to its original owner. If Sam chose to take advantage of Kanguru's Customization by engraving his contact information on the drive, his chances of getting the drive back are even higher.
With USBtoCloud®, he can simply download the encrypted backup file onto a new drive from his preferred cloud storage account and be back up and running in no time.
With KRMC™, he could disable or even choose to wipe the lost drive remotely for peace of mind. He might even be able to locate the drive using the last location by IP Address.
Sam is happy.
If you have very important, valuable information that requires good strong security and protection, it’s always good to have a strong, robust backup plan. With Kanguru you have many options to protect and secure your important data in any situation.
Kanguru provides secure, hardware encrypted USB devices for any organization or individual looking to protect data. To learn more about how Kanguru can help your organization protect information, call Kanguru at 1-(508)-376-4245 or feel free to email us at sales@kanguru.com.