Posted on Thursday, January 28 2010 @ 16:15 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Kingston introduced the DataTraveler 5000 series, new USB flash drives that focus on security. With 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption, XTS cipher mode and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) algorithms these drives meet Suite B standards approved by the US government and are FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certified with Level 3 pending.
"The DataTraveler 5000 delivers unsurpassed levels of security and encryption to government and enterprise customers," said Mark Akoubian, business manager, Secure USB Products, Kingston®. "This portable data solution represents state-of-the-art data protection while providing end users with the simplicity of plug and play."
The DataTraveler 5000 utilizes patented Secured by SPYRUS™ technology which supports hardware-based 256-bit XTS-AES and Suite B cryptography, including ECC. Suite B algorithms were specifically selected and approved by the U.S. government and the Department of Defense for use in multinational data sharing environments including both classified and unclassified applications. XTS-AES mode is a cipher mode for encryption that is much stronger than CBC, ECB and other modes. SPYRUS, Inc., is the leader in the development of advanced hardware-based encryption, authentication and digital content security products.
FIPS 140-2 certification requires a validation process that meets federal requirements set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This is critical because many governmental agencies in the United States mandate that sensitive "data at rest" (i.e., all information not in the network) must be encrypted with the FIPS 140-2 standard. Level 2 means the DataTraveler 5000 has a tamper-evident construction which acts to notify any users if their drive has been tampered with. It also has a power-on self test that verifies the encryption mechanism is running properly each time the drive is plugged into a USB port. The drive is expected to receive a FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certificate soon.
You can get the DataTraveler 5000 in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities for $111, $185, $231, and $400, respectively.
