Other World Computing (OWC), a trusted leader in high-performance storage, memory, connectivity, software, and accessories that empower creative and business professionals to maximize performance, enhance reliability, and streamline workflows, today announced the launch of the OWC Guardian, a powerful new portable SSD designed for anyone who needs to easily safeguard sensitive data on the go without sacrificing speed or simplicity.

OWC Guardian is designed to offer both data security and ease of use. It is compatible with USB-C Macs, iPad Pros, and PCs. Users connect the device, enter a password using the built-in color touchscreen, and can then transfer files via drag and drop. There is no software installation required, and performance remains smooth without compatibility issues. OWC Guardian uses 256-bit AES OPAL hardware encryption to automatically encrypt data during writing and decrypt it upon authorized access. The touchscreen allows PIN or passphrase entry, and additional features include multi-user access, read-only mode, secure erase, and randomized keypad layouts. OWC Guardian is suitable for users handling sensitive or personal data and supports compliance needs without adding workflow complexity. With up to 1000 MB/s in real-world transfer speeds and capacities up to 4.0 TB, OWC Guardian can support large file backups, media transfers, and 4K video editing.

Semiconductor intellectual property core provider CAST today announced a new IP core that implements the SNOW-V stream cipher algorithm to meet the security and performance demands of modern communication systems. Available now for ASICs or FPGAs, the company believes it to be the first such commercial IP core.

The new SNOW-V Stream Cipher Engine provides a flexible and reusable hardware implementation of the official SNOW-V mechanism as published in 2019 by the IACR Transactions on Symmetric Cryptology. SNOW-V revises the SNOW 3G stream cipher algorithm to help satisfy the high-speed, low-latency security requirements of 5G, 6G, and future mobile networks. The core:

Broadcom Inc. today announced an industry-first—the new, innovative Emulex Secure Fiber Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBA)—a cost-effective, easy-to-manage solution that encrypts all data as it moves between servers and storage.

Encrypting mission-critical data is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have. The cost of ransomware attacks continues to rise with attacks in 2024 costing USD $5.37 million on average per attack. Upcoming generative AI and quantum computers magnify the risk if data is not encrypted at all points in the data center including the network.

Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend ), a leading global manufacturer of memory storage solutions, announces the launch of its new CFX735 and CFX735I CFast cards. These cards feature built-in write protection technology, designed specifically for professional applications that require secure data storage and stable, high-performance write capabilities.

Leveraging 112-layer 3D NAND flash technology and a SATA III 6 Gb/s interface, this series offers exceptional read/write speeds and large storage capacities. Whether you're dealing with data-intensive applications or operating in demanding environments, these cards deliver reliable performance. The CFX735 operates in a temperature range of -5°C to 70°C, while the CFX735I is built for extreme environments, functioning reliably from -40°C to 85°C, perfect for outdoor and temperature fluctuating scenarios.

Today Microsoft published an extensive blog post about the controversial Recall feature that was intended to launch with Copilot+ enabled Windows 11 PCs. To recap on Recall: Recall was announced as a service that creates and stores 'snapshots' of the user's activity on their PC, and uses the neural processing hardware within a Copilot+ certified machine to filter search requests by the user in order to find what they had previously seen. In effect, it took constant screenshots and would index the contents of those screenshots to assist with vague search queries. Saw a very funny picture in Discord a week ago and can't find it but can describe what it looked like? Search Recall and with the power of neural processing it would sift through its index of stored screenshots and attempt to provide you the exact image you described. Or, you could scroll back through the gallery of snapshots yourself to find what you wanted.

The idea of a program or service running in the background taking screenshots of your activity every few seconds yielded some pretty unsavory reactions from just about everyone. To assuage privacy concerns Microsoft did release an update in June committing to a broad set of security improvements to Recall before the preview would be available to test. This latest blog post titled, "Update on Recall security and privacy architecture", outlines more improvements on top of those announced back in June.

Iodyne, a company dedicated to providing Pro users with the best technology, announced its Pro Mini external solid-state drive sporting unique features like the dual AirJet cooling system. This technology allows the drive to maintain sustained performance without the thermal throttling that plagues other portable SSDs. The Pro Mini can deliver speeds of 3 GB/s, up to two times the sustained throughput of standard professional SSDs, even with active encryption and internal RAID protection.

The drive features a triple-anodized machined aluminum chassis and hardened glass protection with a customizable 2.1" E-paper display. Offered with 4 TB or 8 TB capacities, the iodyne Pro Mini offers versatile connectivity, including a bus-powered USB-C port that automatically detects the connection type and adjusts its speed accordingly, supporting up to 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt connections. Security is another point where this product stands out with the use of Passkeys instead of passwords, along with enterprise-grade encryption and hardware-accelerated RAID-6 data protection. The Pro Mini also incorporates an integrated Bluetooth beacon for location tracking.

Setting a new benchmark in the realm of cyber security, DataLocker Inc., the leader in encrypted storage solutions, endpoint protection, and management tools, proudly presents the Sentry 5 hardware-encrypted USB Flash Drive. This latest innovation stands as a standard of unparalleled data protection, tailored where stringent compliance and security have become paramount.

DataLocker CEO Jay Kim emphasizes, "In the ever-evolving digital landscape full of cyber threats, the Sentry 5 encrypted cold storage USB drive provides an additional tool for your security arsenal. This device is a continuation of our unwavering commitment to upholding data security, offering organizations a blend of top-notch security measures, flexibility, and efficiency."

Supermicro, Inc., a Total IT Solution Provider for Cloud, AI/ML, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is announcing the AMD based Supermicro H13 generation of WIO Servers, optimized to deliver strong performance and energy efficiency for edge and telco datacenters powered by the new AMD EPYC 8004 Series processors. The new Supermicro H13 WIO and short-depth front I/O systems deliver energy-efficient single socket servers that lower operating costs for enterprise, telco, and edge applications. These systems are designed with a dense form factor and flexible I/O options for storage and networking, making the new servers ideal for deploying in edge networks.

"We are excited to expand our AMD EPYC-based server offerings optimized to deliver excellent TCO and energy efficiency for data center networking and edge computing," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "Adding to our already industry leading edge-to-cloud rack scale IT solutions, the new Supermicro H13 WIO systems with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5-4800 MHz memory show tremendous performance for edge applications."

MaxLinear, Inc., a leader in data storage accelerator solutions, today announced the production-release of the OCP 3.0 storage accelerator adapter card for Panther III. The ultra-low latency accelerator is designed to quicken key storage workloads, including database acceleration, storage offload, encryption, compression, and deduplication enablement for maximum data reduction. The Panther III OCP card is ideal for use in modern data centers, including public to edge clouds, enterprise data centers, and telecommunications infrastructure, allowing users to access, process, and transfer data up to 12 times faster than without a storage accelerator. The OCP version of the card is available immediately with a PCIe version available in Q3 2023.

"In an era where the amount of data generated exceeds new storage installations by multiple fold, Panther III helps reduce the massive storage gap while improving TCO per bit stored," said Dylan Patel, Chief Analyst at SemiAnalysis.

Apricorn, the leading manufacturer of software-free, 256-bit AES XTS hardware-encrypted USB drives, today announced the release of the USB 10Gbs Aegis NVX. Employing proprietary architecture, The Aegis NVX is the first Apricorn encrypted device to feature an NVMe SSD inside. Initial capacity offerings will be 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB, with a price range of $339.00 - $739.00 MSRP.

The NVX was conceived to address the immediate protection of raw data delivered directly from its source at high speeds, such as high-definition video cameras with the capability to write to an external SSD via USB C or HDMI. The NVX's high-speed read/write capabilities at 1,000 MB/s are sought after in the fields of military intelligence, digital forensics, filmmaking and healthcare where write speeds over 600 Mb/s are critical.

As the development of global technology continues to accelerate, the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI applications have become closely linked at the consumer and enterprise application levels, creating a new highly-efficient information age. As the evolution brings greater information security risks, Team Group has integrated hardware-based encryption technology and security key applications, launching its highly customized data protection product series "Security Solutions" Geared toward keeping user information safe, the first products to be released under this series are the MicroSD Hidden Memory Card, the MicroSD Security Memory Card, and the FIDO USB.

Team Group MicroSD Hidden Memory Card's special design allows it to hide sensitive data stored in the cards. With its increased information security, it's suitable for industries like industrial automation, IoT, and smart manufacturing. The MicroSD Security Memory Card features strong encryption technology to protect sensitive data in memory cards, making it perfect for industries that require a high level of security, such as the finance, medical, and defense industries.

Apricorn, the leading manufacturer of software-free, 256-bit AES XTS hardware-encrypted USB drives, today announced the release of the USB 3.2 Gen 1 Aegis Secure Key 3 2 TB encrypted flash key. Designed for organizations that need large amounts of encrypted storage with a minimal footprint, the new 2 TB Aegis Secure Key 3 is the industry's first hardware-encrypted flash key of this size, marking a time-honored tradition of innovation from Apricorn. Currently, the Aegis Secure Key 3 has eight capacity options ranging from 16 GB to 2 TB, pricing from $129.00 - $999.00 U.S.

The Aegis Secure Key 3, originally introduced in 2015, was the first Apricorn device to feature AegisWare, Apricorn's patent-protected firmware that first introduced Forced Enrollment, Programmable PIN lengths, Unattended Auto Lock and Lock Override. At 256 GB, this original version was already double the storage capacity of any encrypted flash key on the market. Fifteen months later, that maximum size doubled to 480 GB, and again doubled to 1 TB in November of 2018. Seven years after its initial launch, the Aegis Secure Key 3 has been adopted in myriad government, military, and corporate environments and remains Apricorn's fastest, most rugged flash key in the line.

ATP Electronics, the global leader in specialized storage and memory solutions, introduces its latest 3D triple-level cell (TLC) flash storage solid state drives (SSDs): the N700 and N600 Series, which support the high-speed PCIe 3.0 interface x4 lanes and NVMe protocol. The new SSDs offer hardware-based security features, such as Write Protection and Quick Erase, by project and customer request. Enabled through the general input/output (GPIO) pins, HW Write Protect puts the SSD in "Read Only" mode, thus preventing the modification or tampering of stored data. HW Quick Erase, on the other hand, initiates a block-by-block data pattern write operation to systematically erase any trace of user data.

Available as M.2 2230 modules, they offer better power efficiency and are suitable for applications using small and light systems such as point-of-sale (POS) systems, mobile PCs, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and server boot applications. The N700 and N600 Series accommodate a heatsink ball-grid array (HSBGA) on the M.2 2230 form factor. For customers who prefer a soldered-down, vibration-proof solution, ATP also offers M.2 Type 1620 HSBGA SSDs with the same firmware and NAND configuration.

Kingston Digital Europe Co LLP, a flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced the release of IronKey Locker+ 50 (LP50) USB Flash drive that provides consumer-grade security with AES hardware-encryption in XTS mode to safeguard against BadUSB with digitally-signed firmware and Brute Force password attacks.

Kingston IronKey Locker+ 50 offers multi-password, Admin and User, option with Complex or Passphrase modes. Complex mode allows for passwords from 6-16 characters using 3 out of 4 character sets, while new passphrase mode allows for a numeric PIN, sentence, or even a list of words from 10 to 64 characters long; along with support for international characters. To reduce failed login attempts during password entry, the "eye" symbol can be enabled to reveal what has been typed. But should a User password be forgotten; the Admin password can be used to access the data on the drive or reset the User password.

ADATA Technology (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 3260.TWO), a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces the launch of a proprietary management software that supports TCG OPAL data encryption technology, A+ OPAL. It applies to all ADATA's industrial-grade NVMe and SATA III solid state drives that support TCG OPAL. With an intuitive and simple interface, it enables users to safely manage storage devices, especially for data centers, servers, surveillance, healthcare, and other applications and meets the strict data security requirements of enterprises and governments.

Compared with other encryption software systems, the "Self-Encrypting Drive (SED)" hardware technology defined by TCG OPAL can provide more efficient and convenient management. A+ OPAL software not only greatly reduces the high threshold set by the TCG OPAL specification for users with non-technical backgrounds, but it also saves time and simplifies encrypting through the host system, making information security protection more efficient.

IBM today unveiled IBM z16, IBM's next-generation system with an integrated on-chip AI accelerator—delivering latency-optimized inferencing. This innovation is designed to enable clients to analyze real-time transactions, at scale -- for mission-critical workloads such as credit card, healthcare and financial transactions. Building on IBM's history of security leadership, IBM z16 also is specifically designed to help protect against near-future threats that might be used to crack today's encryption technologies.

IBM innovations, including the IBM z16, have formed the technology backbone of the global economy for decades. Today's modern IBM mainframe is central to hybrid cloud environments, valued by two thirds of the Fortune 100, 45 of the world's top 50 banks, 8 of the top 10 insurers, 7 of the top 10 global retailers and 8 out of the top 10 telcos as a highly secured platform for running their most mission critical workloads. For example, according to a recent IBM commissioned study by Celent "Operationalizing Fraud Prevention on IBM Z," IBM zSystems run 70% of global transactions, on a value basis. "IBM is the gold standard for highly secured transaction processing. Now with IBM z16 innovations, our clients can increase decision velocity with inferencing right where their mission critical data lives," said Ric Lewis, SVP, IBM Systems. "This opens up tremendous opportunities to change the game in their respective industries so they will be positioned to deliver better customer experiences and more powerful business outcomes.

Ever since the emergence of PCs, hard disks have become the most prevalent type of storage device. To accelerate the overall data flow of PCs, increase the storage throughput, and further enhance data security of the hard disks, disk arrays were invented. Information and data security is critical for both individuals and enterprises. The safety of DVRs, computer system disks, monitoring servers, banking systems, warehouses and other data and files can determine whether or not an institution survives. Therefore, the safety performance of SSD is a major focal point.

To meet the demand for SSD security and reliability, the FORESEE, an industry brand of Longsys, SSD R&D team launched the P709 PCIe SSD, which, empowered by the TCG-OPAL 2.0 and Pyrite 2.0 encryption functions, ensures data security and avoids data leakage. In addition to the encryption functions, the capacity combination, power consumption and read/write performance of this product can hold its own against the mainstream market standard. When it comes to compatibility, the FORESEE P709 PCIe SSD has been certified by Intel Modern Standby and UNH-IOL thanks to its excellent low-power performance. Not only does it significantly prolong the battery life of terminal devices, it also ensures product stability by balancing speed and temperatures during continuous operation through the use of temperature control algorithms.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, is proud to announce it has won the following Global InfoSec Awards for its encrypted USB solutions family from Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM), the industry's leading electronic information magazine: Data Loss Prevention Market Leader; Encryption Market Leader; Wireless, Mobile, or Portable Device Security—Most Innovative.

Kingston is the market leader in encrypted USB drives featuring solutions that range from FIPS 197-certified encryption, all the way to the toughest FIPS 140-2 Level 3 IronKey S1000, that is armed with an on-device cryptochip to protect the most sensitive data. Kingston's encrypted drives are an important tool for the government and military, as well as organizations that adhere to strict regulations, including FIPS, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, GDPR and CCPA.

Intel today announced that it has signed an agreement with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to perform in its Data Protection in Virtual Environments (DPRIVE) program. The program aims to develop an accelerator for fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Microsoft is the key cloud ecosystem and homomorphic encryption partner leading the commercial adoption of the technology once developed by testing it in its cloud offerings, including Microsoft Azure and the Microsoft JEDI cloud, with the U.S. government. The multiyear program represents a cross-team effort across multiple Intel groups, including Intel Labs, the Design Engineering Group and the Data Platforms Group, to tackle "the final frontier" in data privacy, which is computing on fully encrypted data without access to decryption keys.

"Fully homomorphic encryption remains the holy grail in the quest to keep data secure while in use. Despite strong advances in trusted execution environments and other confidential computing technologies to protect data while at rest and in transit, data is unencrypted during computation, opening the possibility of potential attacks at this stage. This frequently inhibits our ability to fully share and extract the maximum value out of data. We are pleased to be chosen as a technology partner by DARPA and look forward to working with them as well as Microsoft to advance this next chapter in confidential computing and unlock the promise of fully homomorphic encryption for all," said Rosario Cammarota, principal engineer, Intel Labs, and principal investigator, DARPA DPRIVE program.

Intel today unveiled the suite of new security features for the upcoming 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable platform, code-named "Ice Lake." Intel is doubling down on its Security First Pledge, bringing its pioneering and proven Intel Software Guard Extension (Intel SGX) to the full spectrum of Ice Lake platforms, along with new features that include Intel Total Memory Encryption (Intel TME), Intel Platform Firmware Resilience (Intel PFR) and new cryptographic accelerators to strengthen the platform and improve the overall confidentiality and integrity of data.

Data is a critical asset both in terms of the business value it may yield and the personal information that must be protected, so cybersecurity is a top concern. The security features in Ice Lake enable Intel's customers to develop solutions that help improve their security posture and reduce risks related to privacy and compliance, such as regulated data in financial services and healthcare.

Kingston Digital Europe Co LLP, the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announces the availability of the 128 GB DataTraveler 2000 encrypted USB flash drive. DataTraveler 2000 features an alphanumeric keypad that allows users to lock the drive with a word or number combination for an easy-to-use PIN providing an extra layer of protection. For additional security, an auto-lock feature is activated when the drive is removed from the host device if not properly shut down before ejection.

While lower capacity drives offer their own benefits, larger capacity encrypted drives have become a necessity with the need to transfer higher amounts of sensitive data files as more people work from home," said Oscar Escayola, Flash Business Manager, Kingston EMEA. "The 128 GB DT2000 joins Kingston's full line of high-capacity encrypted drives providing security options for consumers all the way up to military-grade."

Apricorn, the leading manufacturer of software-free, 256-bit AES XTS hardware-encrypted USB data storage devices, today announced that FIPS 140-2 level 3 validation has been awarded to the Aegis Secure Key 3NX by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This level of certification serves to authorize a device's use in industries and institutions -- healthcare, finance, defense, and legal; both nationally and globally -- in compliance with stringent data security regulations such as HIPAA, FERPA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and GDPR.

Originally released in late 2018, the Aegis Secure Key 3NX employs the latest Apricorn Secure Key encryption chipset while delivering cooler operating temperatures and a wider range of storage capacities than its predecessor, the Secure Key 3z.

Continuing our quick look series, this time we cover a product that came to us after our article on portable encrypted storage was published. That very article came about from two companies asking us if we would be interested in checking out their products, and when a startup company formed by Russians who specialize in data protection and embedded security asks you the same, you answer yes! Hawk Security was set up in 2018, and is actually based out of Hong Kong now, and offers data encryption solutions with military-grade encryption standards. They sent out their S-Drive, a portable solution with a 3D NAND-based memory and certification galore, with performance and privacy as the selling point.

The Hawk Security S-Drive ships in a thick cardboard box with a two-piece packaging, with aptly named security seals on the sides. The inner box slides out to reveal a premium unboxing experience with thick foam cut to shape, which in turn houses the user manual, the drive, and the connecting cable itself. The manual is handy for not only knowing the locking and unlocking procedures for this encrypted drive, but also the default password for using it the first time. The cable terminates in a standard USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type A connector on one end, but a 10-pin USB 3.1 Gen 1 Micro Type B super-speed connector on the other to help make the most of connection speeds. This means backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 ports is restricted to USB ports/hubs that provide enough power only, so keep that in mind. Read past the break for more on the drive.

We were impressed with SecureData's offerings for the encrypted portable storage market in the form of the SecureDrive BT and SecureUSB BT, and the company took to CES 2020 to announce their latest and greatest in the form of the SecureDrive Duo that combines Bluetooth app-based encryption we saw with the previous drives, as well as keypad-based encryption for on-the-go modification. The new drive retains also all the features of the BT lineup, including FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification and secure device management. We expect this first of its kind drive to be made available in a variety of storage sizes in both HDD and SSD formats as with the SecureDrive BT, when it is made available for purchase later this year.

In today's world, computer security is becoming very important due the exponential increase in malware and ransomware attacks. Various studies have shown that a single malicious attack can cost companies millions of dollars and can require significant recovery time. With the growth of employees working remotely and connected to a network considered less secure than traditional corporate network, employee's computer systems can be perceived as a weak security link and a risk to overall security of the company. Operating System (OS) and independent hardware vendors (IHV) are investing in security technologies which will make computers more resilient to cyberattacks.