USB

About USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to interface devices. USB was designed to allow peripherals to be connected using a single standardized interface socket and to improve plug-and-play capabilities by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the computer (hot swapping). Other convenient features include providing power to low-consumption devices without the need for an external power supply and allowing many devices to be used without requiring manufacturer specific, individual device drivers to be installed.

USB is intended to help retire all legacy varieties of serial and parallel ports. USB can connect computer peripherals such as mouse devices, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, personal media players, and flash drives. For many of those devices USB has become the standard connection method. USB is also used extensively to connect non-networked printers; USB simplifies connecting several printers to one computer. USB lock software can lock out memory devices and still allow other USB peripherals to function. The USB was originally designed for personal computers, but it has become commonplace on other devices such as PDAs and video game consoles. In 2004, there were about 1 billion USB devices in the world.

The design of USB is standardized by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), an industry standards body incorporating leading companies from the computer and electronics industries. Notable members have included Agere, Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Intel, NEC, and Microsoft.

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Quotes about USB

“ Well, oh, maybe we should use a smart card instead, or a USB token instead? ”
In Analyst: "Are These Banks Asleep at the Wheel?"

Mentioned In 14 Articles
The evolution of online identity and trust

Explore Article scmagazineus.com (Mar 2 2010) Consumer , ID Theft Prevention

...ital version of the document. These digital versions could take many formats, such as a smart card, USB dongle, or credential on a smart phone. With these tools in place, people can assert identity or, e... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: RSA USB Microsoft
Mass. law requires strict IT security

Explore Article Fosters.com (Mar 1 2010) Corporate , Government , Compliance

...ewall security, and anti-virus and anti-spyware software. — Encrypt e-mails and e-mail attachments, USB flash drives, and PDAs containing personal information. — Manage record destruction properly (in-of... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: USB Massachusetts New Hampshire
Data security breaches often triggered by carelessness

Explore Article American Medical Association (Feb 22 2010) Healthcare , Compliance

...mpany in 2009 found that in a six-month period, 12,500 mobile devices were left in taxis, and 4,500 USB memory sticks were left in pockets of pants sent to dry cleaners. (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: USB
Analyst: "Are These Banks Asleep at the Wheel?"

Explore Article bankinfosecurity.com (Feb 12 2010) ID Theft Prevention

...d so some banks will react by saying, 'Well, oh, maybe we should use a smart card instead, or a USB token instead?' The bottom line is all these factors are going through the user's browser, ... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Avivah Litan Gartner Research Information Security Media Group
Full Text Of Cambridge Report On Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode

Explore Article StorefrontBacktalk (Feb 6 2010)

... per customer to issue CAP calculators, banks should spend $20 to issue a similar device but with a USB interface and a trustworthy display. What must be done to make it happen? As this paper should brin... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Steven J. Murdoch USB EMV
IT Lessons Learned: Data Theft

Explore Article Processor.com (Jan 29 2010) Corporate , ID Theft Prevention

...internal theft is more difficult by not allowing floppy drives, CD and DVD writers, or unauthorized USB drives. • Use open-source network scanning tools to ensure that the network only permits expected t... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: USB DLP
Attempted hacker attacks in healthcare on the rise

Explore Article healthcareitnews.com (Jan 27 2010) Healthcare , Data Breach , ID Theft Prevention

...denial-of-service attacks. It can also be spread to other computers via peer-to-peer networking and USB devices. The news comes at a critical moment for healthcare systems security, as hospitals, care ce... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Healthcare Health Insurance Portability Atlanta
Report: Data Breach Costs On The Rise

Explore Article crn.com (Jan 26 2010) Corporate , Compliance

...on breaches occurring when data is lost in transmission, such as via e-mail attachments, on disk or USB drives. And Ponemon said that the use of granular, high-end technologies, such as DLP and access ma... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: DLP USB Ponemon Institute
Storage wrinkle: 4,500 flash drives left at the cleaners

Explore Article Computerworld (Jan 22 2010) Consumer , Corporate , ID Theft Prevention

...t? Check with your dry cleaner. A survey by a U.K.-based company shows that in the last year, 4,500 USB flash drives were forgotten in pockets of clothes left at the dry cleaners, and thousands more hand... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: USB London Traverse City
Identity theft feared as data lost

Explore Article healthzone.ca (Dec 23 2009) Healthcare , Medical Identity Theft , Lastest Data Breaches

...nded flu clinics in Durham Region may be at risk of identity theft following the disappearance of a USB key containing their personal information. Tens of thousands of people who attended flu clinics in ... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Ontario Durham USB
ITRC Fact Sheet 119

Explore Article Identity Theft Resource Center (Dec 10 2009)

... your computer in the event that your hard drive has to be reformatted. If you have the ability, USB backup drives are now available for about $200 which come with backup software, and can schedule b... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: McAfee Trojans USB
The Year Of The Mega Data Breach

Explore Article forbes.com (Nov 25 2009) Consumer , Corporate , Data Breach

...like encryption and data loss prevention (DLP) software, which guards network exits like e-mail and USB ports to block the leakage of sensitive data. Since 2005, encryption of entire hard drives has incr... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Russian Linda Foley USB
Whack-A-Mole Security: Bad Policy, Bad Legislation

Explore Article huffingtonpost.com (Nov 23 2009) Corporate , Data Breach

...cured file, the confidential information could have been leaked in many different ways--from a lost USB drive to a stolen laptop to a snooping roommate. If the file would have even had basic passwor... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: USB Congressional Wall Street Journal
Missing Hard Drive Exposes Soldiers' Data

Explore Article internetnews.com (Nov 19 2009) Government , Lastest Data Breaches

...ty research group the Ponemon Institute, more than 800,000 data-sensitive memory devices, including USB drives, hard drives and laptops, are either lost or stolen each year. (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: USB Ponemon Institute Army