McAfee announced that it has signed deals with a number of USB manufacturers to ship McAfee security software on their devices in an effort to block malware from spreading via USB drives.The antivirus giant has signed OEM partnerships with companies like Kingston Digital Inc, MXI, Rocky Mountain Ram, SanDisk, SPYRUS, Hagiwara, and Yoggie Security Systems, which have secure USB devices in their portfolio. The deals involve McAfee preloading an anti-virus solution onto the devices.
According to McAfee, when a secure USB drive running its anti-malware software gets plugged into a PC, the built-in software will automatically scan the PC for malware. If any threat is found, the software will block any file transfers to the USB device.
McAfee said it now has deals with two-thirds of the world's secured USB manufacturers -- Hagiwara, Kingston Digital Inc, MXI Security, Rocky Mountain Ram, SanDisk, SPYRUS and Yoggie Security Systems -- to install the malware scanning and blocking software on their secure USB devices. Presumably, those manufacturers will also ensure that their own USB devices start off malware-free, unlike promotional malware-infected USB drives shipped by IBM to security conference-goers earlier this year.
Some of McAfee's secure USB relationships predate this announcement, and also hint at all of the levels of security required to actually secure USB drives, both in terms of keeping unwanted malware out and sensitive information in.
For example, MXI Security said that since 2008, it has been using McAfee's encrypted hard disk and biometric software on its secure USB keys. Currently, it said, its drives also work with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator, a centralized security management console that allows IT managers to set, enforce and monitor security policies for USB devices, including banning unauthorized devices.
