DOD details strict flash drive rules

Randomly selected users and drives will be subject to periodic auditing, under the new policy. Individual services and agencies will determine whether flash media may be used in their individual organizations, Mauney said. Some in the military found the all out ban too restrictive, according to one DOD source. The new policy is a compromise. “This is not a return to 'business as usual,'” Mauney said. “There remain strict limitations on using these devices. Use will be permitted only in DOD computers that are in compliance with requirements for hardware that allows for safe transfer of data.” For now, Army officials plan to keep the ban on flash drives in place, according to the Army News Service. “We are currently conducting mission analysis in order to provide guidance for the Army's safe return of thumb drives and flash media,” officials from the Army Global Network Operations Security Center said, according to the news service. The ban was issued in November 2008 after a virus was found to be spreading through military networks by copying itself from one removable drive to another. The ban covered all forms of USB flash media, such as thumb drives, memory sticks and cards, and camera memory cards, as well as some other removable media.