Date Published: July 15, 2025
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Author(s)
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Announcement
The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has developed the draft two-pager NIST Special Publication (SP) 1334, Reducing the Cybersecurity Risks of Portable Storage Media in OT Environments. The cybersecurity considerations in this two-pager are intended to help operational technology (OT) operators and manufacturers use Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices securely.
Portable storage media can be used to transfer data physically to and from OT environments. USB storage devices are convenient, but their use poses potential cybersecurity risks for organizations that utilize them in their OT environments. Organizations can reduce these risks with secure physical and logical controls on the access, storage, and usage of USB devices.
The NCCoE created the OT Security Series to assist organizations in securing their OT systems. If you have any comments on this two-pager and/or recommendations for additional topics that the OT Security Series could cover, please reach out to the NCCoE Manufacturing team at [email protected].
Portable storage media continue to be useful tools for transferring data physically to and from Operational Technology (OT) environments. Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives are commonly used, in addition to external hard drives, CD or DVD drives, and other removable media.
Though portable storage media are convenient, their usage poses cybersecurity risks for operational environments. Procedural, physical, and technical controls are important for minimizing the likelihood of a cyberattack from portable storage media usage. The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has developed cybersecurity considerations to help OT personnel use portable storage media securely and effectively.
Portable storage media continue to be useful tools for transferring data physically to and from Operational Technology (OT) environments. Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives are commonly used, in addition to external hard drives, CD or DVD drives, and other removable media.Though portable...
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Portable storage media continue to be useful tools for transferring data physically to and from Operational Technology (OT) environments. Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives are commonly used, in addition to external hard drives, CD or DVD drives, and other removable media.
Though portable storage media are convenient, their usage poses cybersecurity risks for operational environments. Procedural, physical, and technical controls are important for minimizing the likelihood of a cyberattack from portable storage media usage. The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has developed cybersecurity considerations to help OT personnel use portable storage media securely and effectively.
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Keywords
operational technology; OT; portable storage media; risk management
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