Two Secure USB Thumb Drives From Spyrus

SPYRUS, Inc. announced that two Secure Pocket Drive Editions are available for sale to businesses and commercial markets worldwide.

Secure Pocket Drive has seen demand in the public sector for the past two years. In addition to offering secure access to corporate networks, these editions allow users to install and run their own applications and productivity software locally. Microsoft Office and other Microsoft productivity applications also can be run on the device as long as your company has a current Windows Client Software Assurance Agreement with Microsoft.

Designed as both a secure augment to a worker’s desktop and a trusted, secure endpoint for Internet and cloud computing applications, Secure Pocket Drive is a licensed solution that boots Microsoft’s mobile, flagship operating system, Windows Embedded Standard 7, from a pocket-sized encrypting USB flash drive. Secure Pocket Drive can be booted on almost any Windows-compatible PC, even those that cannot run anything later than Window XP, in less than 60 seconds.

Secure Pocket Drive prevents cross-contamination and the transfer of malware from the host PC by not mounting the internal hard drive, although custom versions are available to law enforcement that can mount the internal hard drive for forensic scanning. How many times has your network been attacked by an employee’s malware-infected personal PC, and how much time does your helpdesk spend supporting non-standard configurations? With Secure Pocket Drive, you own the operating environment, no matter what PC you boot it on.

Secure Pocket Drive can be paired with a diskless lightweight laptop for traveling employees. Employees can safely leave the laptop behind in a hotel room, or even lose it since the laptop contains no mechanism to store data or access your company’s network – employees only need to carry a small thumb drive that is useless to anyone who steals or finds it. Secure Pocket Drive boots and is ready to use in about 30 seconds.

Authorized administrators can use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and Active Directory policy settings to install and update software such as Microsoft Office and remote access clients on Secure Pocket Drive, just like any PC. Secure Pocket Drive, like all SPYRUS encrypting USB flash drives, can also be managed and disabled remotely through the SPYRUS Enterprise Management System (SEMS).

Secure Pocket Drive uses the same on-board hardware security infrastructure that is built into the SPYRUS Hydra Privacy Card family, including AES CBC, ECDH, ECDSA, ECC P-384, and SHA-384, which together make up the National Security Agency’s Suite B cryptography, a part of its cryptographic modernization program. Sector-based full disk encryption is based on XTS-AES 256 encryption (NIST SP800-38E).

Multiple SPYRUS patents are used to lock the Microsoft Windows OS to the device and provide cryptographic protection against modification to the boot loader and the operating system. The patented methods enforce on-the-fly integrity validation to enable fast and secure boot-up and enhance user experience without suffering the performance or vulnerability penalties incurred by other bootable products. The patented Secure Pocket Drive was designed from the ground up with strong FIPS 140-2 Level 3 hardware, US Government-approved next-generation cryptographic algorithms, and built-in self-checking functionality to protect the device, the operating system, and the user.

"We were proud to introduce our multiple award-winning solution to government users in 2010 and to private enterprise in 2011," said Tom Dickens, COO of SPYRUS. "And now we can extend additional functionality to the private sector worldwide. Everyone from road warriors to teleworkers can take advantage of the Secure Pocket Drive rather than issuing a laptop or using an untrusted home PC. Just boot directly from the Secure Pocket Drive for worry-free secure computing."