The U.S. Army has banned the use of USB drives and other forms of removable storage because of a worm spreading through its networks, reports Wired.

An Army e-mail called it a "virus called Agent.btz," believed to be a variation of the "SillyFDC" worm, which spreads by copying itself onto thumb drives and the other storage devices.

Some approved devices eventually will be allowed again -- the military relies heavily on these devices in the field -- but the Army is using this worm as rationale to clamp down on soldiers who bring in their own devices, the story says. The Register quotes Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, offering this advice:

We would advise that users disable the autorun facility of Windows so removable devices such as USB keys and CD ROMs do not automatically launch when they are attached to a PC. Any storage device which is attached to a computer should be checked for virus and other malware before use. ...  Companies can also use technology to help prevent staff from accessing unauthorized devices like USB drives.