Lexar releases Big Brother-enabled USB drives

(Credit: Lexar)

When you hear Los Alamos National Laboratory is disabling its computers' USB ports to prevent people from toting away flash memory drives filled with classified nuclear weapons information, it's not a stretch to imagine that there might be a market for thumb drives with a bit of security.

Enter Lexar's SAFE PSD S1100, a product line announced Monday geared for use at corporate or government customer sites where there's a need to keep the lid on sensitive data.

The drives offer built-in 256-bit file encryption and a mandatory password to gain access to the data. The encryption governs the password as well as the devices' encryption keys and operating firmware, Lexar said. In addition, each system has a unique identifier and can be managed by central servers that govern device and data policies and audit usage.

Lexar, a Micron subsidiary, announced models with 1GB and 2GB capacities. The product is sold through value-added resellers.