We had no problems using the Web interface for test purposes, and deletion of the USB sticks by remote command of the Kanguru Remote Management Console also worked fine. The deletion command can not only be submitted ad hoc, but it is also possible to send the command to function at a preset time. Thus data on the USB drives can be labeled with a kind of expiration date—the USB stick will then be deleted even if the hardware protection switch is engaged.

Overview of the Management Options

To prevent loss of the overview of pending actions, you can load a list of these actions through the menu option "Pending actions”. The report of a successful action is displayed under the menu option "Successful actions", while the page "Failed actions" informs you of failed actions; "Audit Log" shows actions executed in the past. In order to not lose the overview of the USB drives, filtering is possibly by user name, time period, device name or executed action.

More Features To Come

At the time of this article, the deletion command was the only executable command that could be sent to the Kanguru Defender USB stick. In the next few weeks, though, options will be added to adjust the security requirements of the USB drives using the console. The password strength, password length, number of failed login attempts, the ability to change the validity period of the password, and the ability to set and change user and administrator passwords will all be part of the options.

Disadvantage: Complex Software Requirements

Once the Kanguru Remote Management Console is completed, it can be installed and used in the Enterprise version on the company’s own server. The requirements for the server are a dual core processor with a speed of at least 1.8 GHz, and the 32-bit version of Windows 2003 server Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2 as operating system. Furthermore, Internet Information Server version 6 or higher with PHP as ISAPI module needs to be installed, as does Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and OpenSSL 0.9.8g or higher. Single data sets are stored with Microsoft SQL 2005.