The portable convenience of Flash memory has its security down side. Whether the information contained on a drive consists of military or State secrets or is personal or commercial data, if the drive is lost or stolen varying degrees of panic ensue. Rather than risking potential memory stick security breach from reliance on unsafe software-based methods, the LOK-IT flash drive from Systematic Development employs a hardware-based PIN system that needs to be unlocked before any data can be accessed.
The platform independent LOK-IT secure Flash drive benefits from a four tier process to safeguard the precious data contained within. First a user will need to press the key button, then enter a seven to 15 digit PIN password on the self-contained, on-board PIN pad to unlock the drive. It's similar in principle to the Flash Drive Lock featured in Gizmag last year, but offers much better hardware authentication.
A reformat is enforced after ten incorrect password attempts. Once a green light comes on a user has 30 seconds to insert it into a computer or the process will need to be restarted. The drive is only recognized by a computer after the hardware PIN is entered and will automatically lock once the drive is removed from a device.
All of the data on the drive is further protected by military-grade, FIPS approved AES 256-bit encryption, the key being stored in the devices security controller and not in the memory. Lastly, all of the vital components contained within the anodized aluminum water and dust resistant drive (including the Flash memory) are coated with an epoxy resin to counteract any forced entry attempts.
The LOK-IT secure Flash drive is available in five or a ten keypad versions of varying capacity.