SanDisk has warned that IT managers are unaware of the extent to which unsecured flash drives are being brought into their organizations, backing this with a new study of corporate end-users and IT executives.

The study found that 77% corporate end-users surveyed have admitted to using personal flash drives for work-related purposes. However, when asked to estimate what percentage of the workforce uses personal flash drives, corporate IT respondents said only 35%.

Users meanwhile admitted that data files most likely to be copied to a personal flash drives includes customer records (25%), financial information (17%), business plans (15%), employee records (13%), marketing plans (13%), intellectual property (6%), and source code (6%).

The survey highlights that due to the highly portable nature of USB flash drives, they represent a significant risk of data loss for enterprises. Approximately one in ten (12%) of corporate end users reported finding a flash drive in a public place. Additionally, when asked to pick the three most likely actions they would take if they found a flash drive in a public place, 55% indicated they would view the data.

SanDisk meanwhile hopes to give IT managers a fighting chance of controlling the usage of flash drives in organizations, and earlier this week unveiled a new version of its CMC (Central Management & Control) software used to manage its Cruzer Enterprise USB flash drives.

The SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise flash drive comes in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB storage capacities.

Version 3.0 of the CMC software is designed to give IT managers an easier way to manage the lifecycle of Cruzer Enterprise USB flash drives, including deployment throughout the organization, password recovery and renewal through the network, central back-up and restore, central usage tracking, and remote termination of lost drives.

"CMC is at the center of SanDisk's mission to make flash memory the preferred solution for authentication, workspace virtualization and endpoint security," said Etti Berger, product marketing manager for CMC in SanDisk's Enterprise Division.

Specifically, CMC 3.0 allows IT managers to rapidly introduce new applications through the network, without users having to initiate an installation process or having to bring their drives to the IT department. It also keeps track of application and seat licences on Cruzer Enterprise drives.