Secure USB Drive

SanDisk Enterprise, a branch of SanDisk Corporation recently announced that their USB flash drives and Central Management & Control (CMC) server software has been selected by the State of Washington’s Division of Child Support (DCS) to protect confidential client data at DCS headquarters and in 10 field offices statewide.

DCS collects about $700 million per year in child-support payments and manages about 350,000 active child-support cases.

SanDisk Enterprise develops USB encryption in flash drives to allow users a password protected flash drive. This way, the user is ensured USB security at all times. Data is not compromised, and users can continue to use secure USB flash drives.
Roy Ramati, vice president and general manager of the Enterprise Division at SanDisk said, “DCS employees don’t have to give up the convenience of carrying data on flash drives, while the division’s information technology (IT) staff knows that data is password-protected and encrypted – and that Cruzer Enterprise drives can be easily managed with CMC, even in field offices far from headquarters.” He went on to say, “With the many recent reports of data loss and theft involving government agencies around the world, we are pleased to help DCS respond to security problems before they happen.”

DCS, part of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, collects sensitive personal data – including criminal histories, U.S. State Department passport data, tax returns, and various employer records. – in pursuing its collection efforts. Protecting this data from unauthorized access and improper use using USB security is crucial.

DCS acquired 200 Cruzer Enterprise USB flash drives along with SanDisk’s CMC software for managing the complete lifecycle of those drives. The secure USB flash drives are being supplied to unit managers, who supervise collection teams in DCS field offices. The master CMC console for provisioning and managing the drives will be located at DCS headquarters in Olympia, Wash., with sub-administrators in each DCS field office.

Cruzer Enterprise protects all files stored on the secure usb flash drive with advanced hardware-based 256-bit AES encryption. Users are also required to create a complex password during the set-up process. The combination of encryption and password protection makes it extremely difficult for unauthorized users to access data if the drive is lost or stolen. Cruzer Enterprise is also fast, with read speed of 24 megabytes (MB) per second and write speed of 20 MB/sec1.

CMC server software offers lifecycle management for Cruzer Enterprise drives, including remote termination of lost drives, password recovery and renewal through the network, back-up and restore, and central usage tracking. This means data is not lost when a drive is lost, and IT administrators can provision a replacement flash drive with user files stored on the network.

SanDisk’s Enterprise Division provides IT managers with a comprehensive hardware and software solution to meet the ongoing threat of data leakage from insecure network endpoints.

SanDisk’s line of products include flash digital cameras and camcorders; memory cards for mobile phones; digital audio/video players; embedded memory for mobile devices; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise including secure USB flash drives and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk Corporation is an international leader in flash memory and the inventor of the world’s largest supplier of flash storage cards – from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.