One of the biggest drawbacks with USB pen drives is losing one, since not only does the person need to fork out on a replacement, if the drive contains confidential data, it could cost this person far more. While there are a wide range of software security tools available for encrypting pen drive content, these all have the drawback in that the consumer must type their password in, which can be easily grabbed on a public PC infected with a key-logger. If a pen drive is left behind or stolen, the encrypted data could be potentially cracked using a brute-force attack if a weak password was used.
To overcome software-authentication without going to the extreme of carrying biometric fingerprint readers, etc. around, Corsair has introduced its "Flash Padlock" series of secure USB drives. Instead of keying in a password on the PC, the drive features physical keys to enter the pin on the drive itself with indicators of successful locking & unlocking. Once unlocked, the drive is recognised as a traditional pen drive, thus allowing it to be used on any OS a normal pen drive would work on, including Linux and MAC. However, once the drive is unplugged, the drive is automatically locked again. While locked, its data cannot be accessed, thus preventing brute force attacks.
Corsair claims this to be one of the most secure UBS flash drive solutions on the market today. It supports up to a 10 digit pin. The drive comes in a choice of a 1GB and 2GB version, both with a suggested retail price of $29.99 and $39.99 respectively and come with a 3-year limited warranty.
Further information can be found in this source Corsair press release.
