CHARLOTTE, NC--(Marketwire - September 18, 2007) - High Density Devices, AS, the Norwegian
company that pioneered hardware-based hard drive encryption technology in
the European marketplace, has set up its U.S. office in Charlotte, N.C. to
begin selling into the U.S. market.
In a sense, this is a homecoming for HDD. Though the company was founded in
Norway, much of its product development was funded by the U.S. Department
of Defense (DoD) through an $8 million grant from the Common Information
Centric Security Project (CICS). To date, the DoD remains HDD's largest
customer.
The U.S. market represents a logical push for HDD. New and emerging U.S.
government regulations outline how companies must protect their data, how
the protection must be documented, and the penalties for failing to defend
data from unauthorized access. HDD's SecureD product line provides
unprecedented protection of data at rest and is targeted to government and
commercial organizations with sensitive data and mobile workforces --
precisely the organizations facing regulation.
Software-based hard drive encryption can help protect organizations from
data breaches, but only the SecureD hardware solution can offer unequivocal
proof that lost data cannot be compromised. SecureD makes information
stored on hard drives inaccessible to anyone without the proper key to
access it. The encryption technology stands as a guard between the computer
user and the hard drive. The data stored on a SecureD protected disk drive
can only be accessed with a smart card that verifies the user's authority
to access the hard drive.
"Any organization dealing with sensitive information faces strict
regulations about protecting data -- Gramm-Leach Bliley in financial
services, HIPAA in healthcare, PCI DSS in the credit card industry, and
even states such as California have very severe penalties for organizations
that fail to protect data," said Stein Aamot, CEO for High Density Devices.
"In addition to the obvious problem caused when there's a data breach --
personal information is at stake, business secrets are exposed -- there's
also a very real cost to business imposed through regulations. Industry
studies have shown that the loss of one laptop containing sensitive
consumer data, on average, costs the company $4.2 million in reporting and
reparation."
Organizations should be highly concerned about unauthorized access to
sensitive data. IDC reports that as much 60% of important corporate data
resides on desktop and laptop computers that are not properly protected.
When combined with the fact that laptop theft was the second most prevalent
form of computer attack, following only computer viruses, according to an
FBI study, organizations face a very real challenge. In fact, a 2006 study
conducted by the Ponemon Institute found that there was an 81%
year-over-year increase in the number of companies reporting stolen laptops
containing sensitive information.
"If a computer equipped with SecureD's hard drive encryption is lost or
stolen, the organization only needs to show the access key to prove that
the hard drive data is inaccessible. A hard drive encrypted with SecureD is
worthless to anyone without the key," continued Aamot. "With software, it's
very difficult to prove the hard drive was encrypted. Even if you can
demonstrate the software was installed, it's difficult to provide evidence
it wasn't disabled or circumvented by the user prior to the loss or theft
or that the password wasn't compromised."
Though there are many software-based offerings already on the market that
encrypt hard drives, High Density Devices' unique hardware-based approach
to encryption has been certified according to the National Institute of
Standards and Technology's Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)
140-2 Level 3. Software encryption can only reach Level 2 status because
they cannot meet the Level 3 equirement for a physical or logical
separation between the interfaces by which critical security parameters
enter and leave the hard drive.
SecureD's 256 bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption is
available in several forms for easy deployment:
-- SecureD Desktop: PCI card works with organization's existing SATA hard
drives
-- SecureD Laptop: completely integrated into a 2.5-inch laptop hard
drive
-- SecureD USB: external 120GB drives provide secure, portable data
storage and backup
SecureD solutions include numerous features and benefits, including:
-- Stronger security than software: no encryption keys are stored on the
hard drive
-- Fast performance: full disk encryption/decryption with no software to
slow computer performance
-- Independent from operating systems: invisible to all operating and
file systems
-- Safer and less expensive to repair or recycle old systems: zero end-of-
life disposal costs
-- Easy to audit and to prove compliance: without the physical key token,
the drive is useless
With SecureD there is no need for user intervention, no software to learn,
no user training, no technical support costs and no additional IT
infrastructure required. This results in a low total cost of ownership.
SecureD delivers stronger security and better performance than any other
encryption solution available today.
About High Density Devices
High Density Devices is a nine-year old company headquartered in Norway.
The company's SecureD brand of encryption hardware protects data at rest
and is used by government and commercial organizations throughout the
world. More information is available at
www.securedhdd.com.
Contact Information: Contact:
Ivy Eckerman
Spire Communications for High Density Devices
(540) 373-2963