Imation High-Security USB Hard Disk Drive Series

Eager to add something to the external and portable hard disk drive market, Imation has launched some new USB-connected models that offer both a higher capacity and improved safety, compared to existing units.

According to the press release and the official company website, Imation's H100 and/or H200 series have been expanded. The top capacity is now 1 TB, rather than 750 GB, while security consists of much more than AES 256-bit encryption (Cipher Block Chain / CBC mode). And by “more” we mean FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) 140-2, Level 3 validated security processor, single or dual-factor authentication, (password plus biometric fingerprint through swipe sensor) and a tamper-evident aluminum case. "Enterprise and government organizations increasingly need manageable USB devices in order to provide mobile workers with the tools necessary to work where and when they want, and access the data they need in the most secure way possible," said Lawrence Reusing, Imation’s general manager for mobile security. "People are increasingly turning to USB hard drives to transport large data sets. Our expanding secure hard drive offerings are in response to our customers needing increased capacity without compromising control over the devices and data."

Up to 10 different users can be recognized by the HDDs through these two methods, while the optional Imation ACCESS Enterprise management makes it easy to manage up to tens of thousands of secure portable devices across networks and security environments. The McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator software is just a bonus (enables centralized enterprise device management, administrative capabilities such as including US Government CAC/PIV card authentication, optional antivirus software that prevents malware from being transferred onto the device, etc.).

Imation expects to gain customers among IT administrators for enterprises and government agencies. "Many organizations have already taken steps to encrypt and protect data on disk drives used in notebook PCs, but now need to go one step further to encrypt and protect data on personal storage devices," said John Rydning, IDC's research vice president for hard disk drives. "Imation's encrypted personal storage solutions address what is often a neglected area for data security in organizations."

Imation secure HDD
Image credits to Imation

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