USB WhiteList 1.0

USB Storage/Disk is a convenient tools but also a threat to industrial operation. Sensitive data can be copied easily! “USB WhiteList” can set specific USB Storage/Disk as a white list for accessing, including recognition, read, write and format. Others not in the white list will not work. Administrator just plugs USB Storage/Disk and adds it to white list, and then only it can be used to read, write.

Why an Industrial PC (IPC) need to disable his USB ports?

Industrial PC (IPC) is widely used in specific environment, like airport, factory, station, hospital and department store... they play different functions to serve us. But they are not totally closed in a chassis, for example, if you go to back side of a signage player in airport (it is playing the airplane fly schedule), you can see a Box IPC attached to the panel, it's USB ports is visible and you can plug your USB KB/Mouse, then you can control it, or plug personal USB storage, then the signage system will become your personal computer?

In the past, our solution is disable the USB ports from BIOS change, but it will make all USB port disable, if customer wants to re-open it, then we need to update the BIOS, it is complicated.

Another solution is to change the PCB layout circuit by adding a GPIO to USB port power line, and then we can offer a tool to control the GPIO to turn on/off the USB port. But this way need to change layout, cost is higher.

With “USB WhiteList”, customer can turn On USB port by adding the ports into white list, then the USB ports are ok to use, if you don't need it, just remove them from white list it, then the selected USB ports will be disable. As for restricting the use of USB storages, customers just add the selected USB storages into white list. Then all others will not work.