Military relaxes ban on computer flash drives, will allow limited use especially in battle

Military relaxes ban on computer flash drives

WASHINGTON — Nearly 15 months after the Defense Department banned the use of external computer flash drives, officials have agreed to allow limited use of the convenient high-tech storage devices.

The approved flash drives will be included in kits that the military will soon begin to distribute, with the first priority being troops in Afghanistan and Iraq who need the devices to carry or transfer critical data.

Vice Adm. Carl V. Mauney, deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told reporters Friday that initially only dozens will be sent to the war zone, but eventually more kits will be created and distributed. He said he does not know how much the kits will cost, or how many will be handed out over time.

Plagued by millions of computer probes and attacks every day, the Pentagon has been struggling to balance its need for strict computer security with the urgent battlefield demands of its commanders. Defense Department and other U.S. government officials repeatedly warn of the growing threat of coordinated cyber attacks that pose potential national security risks.

The threats come from a wide range of attackers — from routine hackers to foreign governments looking to steal sensitive information or bring down critical, life-sustaining systems.

A Defense Department study last year concluded, for example, that China’s People’s Liberation Army has set up information warfare units to develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems and networks as well as to protect friendly systems.

In November 2008, after a rash of viruses and other cyber incidents hit Pentagon computers — and in some cases affected unclassified systems and forced workers to take computers offline — Pentagon officials banned and confiscated employees’ flash drives. The drives, which are used to move documents or data from one computer to another, can easily transfer viruses or other damaging computer malware from unprotected equipment to the government systems.

Mauney said the new flash drive kits will have hardware and software that will include filters and other protections to ensure data will be transferred safely.

The special kits will cost more than the ordinary flash drives available at discount stores.

The priority, he said, will be troops who need the drives for military operations, and not for administrative use.

Under the new program:

— Combatant commanders and the military services will determine who will get them and how the devices are used

— Only the government bought and owned devices will be allowed; personal drives are still banned

— The government devices can’t be used on personal computers

— The flash drives are considered a last resort for use when other network resources aren’t available

— Users and the flash drives will be subject to random audits

On the Net:

U.S. Strategic Command: www.stratcom.mil/