Biometric flash drives are the next step in corporate data protection, says New Generation Solutions.
Data security in SA is leaping rather than evolving, says Guy Golan, MD of integration security solutions company New Generation Solutions (NGS).
In Europe, security evolved from smart card authentication to reach the level of biometric authentication for protecting desktops, he says.
"Whereas in SA, testing smart cards as second level authentication security leaped forward to reach the biometric conclusion immediately."
NGS has developed the BioSlimDisk, a platform-independent biometric-secured USB flash storage device with an integrated fingerprint sensor.
"The data stored within the device is inaccessible and encrypted and only your fingerprint can unlock the data," says Golan.
If a USB storage device gets lost, so does the information stored on it. The biometric flash drive is designed for employees who deal with sensitive data and those travelling with important data, he adds.
The BioSlimDisk is a small part of a wider solution. While it protects all the data carried on the device, it can also be used to enable strong protection of the desktop, says Golan.
It is a platform for second-level security and can have add-on software extension authentication for a desktop environment, including hardware encryption, and allows users to manage all USB sticks plugged into the specific PC, he adds.
There are around 5 000 BioSlimDisks in the South African market, but Golan says NGS is targeting 10 000 by year-end.
The memory capacity of the device ranges from 128MB to 512MB, but Golan says a 1GB device is in the pipeline.
"The device is not positioned as a memory stick but more as a security component."
Golan says the device is relatively expensive, and is targeted at the public sector and big financial houses, not individuals.
Share
