As part of our ongoing work to strengthen the security of our systems and protect organisational and personal data, we are making a change to how removable media can be used on our IT network.
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What is changing?

We will be introducing a technical security control that will block the use of removable storage devices on our network.

This means that, going forward, devices such as USB memory sticks, USB storage drives and other removable storage devices will no longer be able to be used to transfer or store data on our organisation's computers.
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Why are we making this change?

Removable storage devices can present a security risk. They can potentially introduce malware or allow organisational or personal data to be copied, removed or transferred without the appropriate controls in place.

Blocking these devices is therefore an important step in helping us to protect our systems and the information we are responsible for, and forms part of our wider information security measures.
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How might this affect you?

For most people, there should be little or no impact to your day-to-day work.

However, you may notice that you are no longer able to:

• Save files directly onto a USB memory stick or external storage device.
• Copy files from a USB device onto your work computer.
• Transfer work files between computers using a USB or other removable storage device.

If you currently use USB devices as part of your role, please speak to Bluecube before the change is implemented so that we can understand your requirements and make sure there is an appropriate alternative available.

Where you need to share or transfer files, please use the organisation's approved systems and storage solutions rather than removable media e.g. the use of SharePoint and OneDrive.
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When is this happening?

The change is planned for 23/09/2026. We will provide further information if there are any changes to this date.

If you have any questions or are concerned that this change may affect something you currently need to do as part of your role, please contact Bluecube on  [email protected]

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