South Korean military bans USB flash drives

In response to recent hacking attempts, the South Korean military plans to ban the use of USB flash drives, according to a report today on the China View Web site.

The South Korean military plans builds a new system to transfer data, which could be available by early next year, according to the report. Once the new system is in operation, flash drives will be banned.

Related story: U.S. reconsiders security standards for flash drives

About $2.5 million will fund development of an system to transfer data, replacing the use of portable storage devices, according to Seoul's Yonhap News Agency.

South Korea is scheduled to launch a military cyber command this week in response to recent cyberattacks, according to a Yonhap News report last week.

Last November, a contingency war plan designed by South Korea and the United States was potentially comprised via a portable storage device used by a military officer, Yonhap News reported.

In November 2008, the Defense Department banned the use of removable media such as USB thumb drives and CDs because of malware attacks.