Spyrus Delivers 256GB Microsoft Certified Windows To Go 8.0 and 8.1 USB 3.0 SSDs

SPYRUS, Inc. announced 256GB high-capacity versions of their Microsoft certified Portable Workplace, Secure Portable Workplace, WorkSafe, and WorkSafe Pro portable SSD live drives for Windows To Go.

The 256GB USB form factor SSD drive, manufactured by PNY Technologies, Inc., addresses a developing need for trusted mobility solutions that transform almost any laptop or desktop into a workspace.

With the launch of this product, SPYRUS’s capacity live drive provides contractors, remote workers, and telecommuters with an operating environment that includes storage capacity for development tools and large datasets that create ‘personal cloud-like’ data analytics.

The new 256GB bootable drives retain all the capabilities of their respective 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB Windows To Go versions and feature security defense of the OS, documents, and identity credentials from tampering and theft with layered hardware and software encryption depending on the particular model.

“PNY is proud to partner with SPYRUS to manufacture this new high capacity Windows To Go drive. We believe that it meets the burgeoning market demand for secure higher capacity storage,” said Bob Stone, SVP of operations, PNY. “Our extensive USA manufacturing and support facilities for flash-based products in Parsippany, New Jersey, can meet the global demand forecasted for bootable live drives and SSDs. SPYRUS customers can depend on our years of experience shipping millions of reliable devices to enterprises and consumers.”

“Technical leadership, hardware security, optional onboard FIPS 140-2 Level 3 PKI capabilities, ultra-high performance, and the new features of Windows 8.1 make SPYRUS 256GB drives the choice for high-capacity Windows To Go platforms,” said Tom Dickens, SPYRUS COO. “By utilizing the new high-capacity drives, corporations may finally realize significant cost savings by repurposing employee-owned or corporate legacy computers.“

WorkSafe and WorkSafe Pro live drives provide a made-in-USA Windows 8.1 end point for network access and simultaneously protect enterprise networks with multi-factor authentication using smart card digital certificates. These drives are a family of live drives that embed FIPS 140-2 Level 3 hardware smart card chips to provide tamper-proof digital certificates for authentication and encryption. WorkSafe Pro adds AES-256 XTS hardware encryption for the assurance applications. Enterprises can leverage their investment in public key and smart card infrastructures, extending their trusted foundation for smart card login, VPN access, secure email, and authenticated online collaboration.

The SPYRUS ToughBoot loader, digitally signed by Microsoft, mitigates against hacking attacks during the boot sequence when using the UEFI Secure Boot available on newer computers. If any tampering or malfunction of hardware or firmware is detected, the boot process will not continue.

Portable Workplace and Secure Portable Workplace offer Secured by SPYRUS patented encryption technology in a USB 3.0 Windows To Go drive that runs a version of Windows 8 at SSD speeds. Secure Portable Workplace protects the OS and user data with AES-256 XTS hardware encryption. Because of built-in self-checks and proven military-grade encryption, Secure Portable Workplace can withstand the sophisticated attempts to gain access to information on the device. SPYRUS patented technology enforces on-the-fly integrity validation to enable fast and secure boot-up and enhance the user experience without suffering the performance or vulnerability penalties incurred by other bootable products.

Secure Portable Workplace was designed to meet FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification requirements and implements US Government-approved, next-generation cryptographic algorithms to protect the device, the data, and the OS.

“There is no other portable storage device booting Windows To Go on the market today with stronger security than what SPYRUS offers,” adds Dickens.

The 256GB high-capacity drives maintain compatibility with the optional SPYRUS Enterprise Management System (SEMS). Combining a Microsoft public key with a smart card-enabled ecosystem and SPYRUS security applications extends a security approach for enterprise smart card and PKI infrastructure to mobile users. With SEMS device management, enterprise administrators can centrally register, block/unblock, revoke, set policies, audit, and ‘kill’ SPYRUS Windows To Go drives.