Security vendor, Centennial Software, has teamed up with the author of virus-style program, Slurp.exe, to demonstrate the ease of stealing corporate data via portable devices such as USB sticks and iPods.

US security expert, Abe Usher, first highlighted this issue last year when he developed the proof-of-concept data theft tool Slurp.exe, which spawned the term 'PodSlurping'.

Slurp.exe can automatically download thousands of business documents from a networked PC to an iPod in less than two minutes. (PodSlurping has since moved beyond iPods to encompass all portable storage devices, such as USB, firewire or Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.)

Usher and Centennial have joined forces to educate organisations about the dangers of unauthorised portable devices in the workplace. Centennial claims to have developed a solution that will protect against portable data theft.

Using Usher’s latest creation, Slurp Audit  (a second-generation application based on Slurp.exe) and Centennial’s product DeviceWall, organisations are being encouraged to test their own vulnerability.

“Slurp Audit does not allow users to actually download files, so, unlike Slurp.exe, we’ve been able to make it publicly available on the internet,” Usher said.

Slurp Audit demonstrates the key weaknesses in corporate network security by generating an HTML report that shows users what files would be stolen via a portable device had the download occurred.

Centennial’s regional manager, Howard Waterson, urged local organisations to test their vulnerability by using the Slurp Audit offer.

“Large security providers focus mainly on the network perimeter, but now more than ever, there is a need to also focus on the endpoint.

“Any company wanting to see first-hand just how vulnerable their data is can visit our web-site to download Slurp Audit and find out themselves.”

Both Slurp Audit and a trial version of DeviceWall are available for free from www.centennial-software.com.