Lexar releases Big Brother-enabled USB drives
Flash memory specialist's USB drives offer encryption, integrate with corporate auditing software
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
When you hear Los Alamos National Laboratory is disabling its computers' USB ports to prevent people from toting away flash memory drives filled with classified nuclear weapons information, it's not a stretch to imagine that there might be a market for thumb drives with a bit of security.
Enter Lexar's SAFE PSD S1100, a product line announced Monday geared for use at corporate or government customer sites where there's a need to keep the lid on sensitive data.
The drives offer built-in 256-bit file encryption and a mandatory password to gain access to the data. The encryption governs the password as well as the devices' encryption keys and operating firmware, Lexar said. In addition, each system has a unique identifier and can be managed by central servers that govern device and data policies and audit usage.
Lexar, a Micron subsidiary, announced models with 1GB and 2GB capacities. The product is sold through value-added resellers.