Encryption may end flash drives' exile for good
In late 2008, the Strategic Command’s Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) put in place an immediate ban on the use of flash drives — USB storage devices that have become the modern version of the floppy disk.
Used throughout the Defense Department to physically carry data between systems or transport personal files for use on shared systems, USB drives were at least partially responsible for a rapidly spreading virus attack on DOD’s Secret IP Router Network and Unclassified but Sensitive IP Router Network. On unclassified systems, the virus might have provided a back door for hackers to extract data.
