It is mandatory that you encrypt any USB flash drive and/or other portable device that contains sensitive University data.
If you don’t, you risk not only accidental loss, destruction or damage to data but also unauthorised disclosure of confidential, personal, or commercially valuable data.
What is encryption?
Encryption is an effective and simple method of protecting data stored on portable devices. The process encodes data so that it can only be read by someone who has the right encryption key to decode it.
This means that if your device is lost or stolen, the information contained on it cannot be accessed by unauthorised users.
How do I encrypt my device?
For guidance on encrypting your personal device, and for more information about encryption, see our Security and Anti-virus web page on StaffNet.
Note that you can also purchase pre-encrypted USB flash drives from the University’s IT Service Desk – contact servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk or log a request online at https://myit.abdn.ac.uk.
Do you really need to use portable devices?
Consider the secure alternatives – network drives, Remote VPN, Direct Access, File Transfer service, and email. See our Security and Anti-virus web page for more.