Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2012, highlighting the early development of extreme physical data security for USB drives, featuring remote wipe and physical destruction capabilities.
ExactTrak Ltd, a prominent data protection company, along with Fujitsu, has created a spy-style memory stick that can be precisely tracked by GPS if it becomes separated from its owner and is fully capable of physically self-destructing by itself using a remote control signal.
Advanced Tracking and Security
The memory stick, appropriately called the Security Guardian, is slightly larger than your normal USB device and cleverly includes a highly encrypted memory chip and a built-in SIM card. This means that it can be accurately tracked by both GPS and GSM network triangulation.
If highly sensitive information is onboard the stick when it is misplaced or stolen, the owner has a wide variety of robust ways of disabling or destroying the information so that it cannot be viewed or shared by unauthorised parties.
Owners can simply sign in to their secure online account and remotely block files and information. Alternatively, they can send a text message with a specific code to the stick itself, which will instantly disable the device or securely lock the files within.
The Self-Destruct Feature
And, if all else completely fails, users can purposely send a high-voltage electrical charge directly into the stick, physically melting the internal memory chip and permanently erasing absolutely everything contained on it.
This killer bolt can be safely delivered without an active internet connection, regardless of whether the physical device is connected to a computer or not.
ExactTrak says: “Location monitoring and data security services can be delivered either via secure access to our monitoring platform, hosted on the Fujitsu Global Cloud Platform, or can be safely located within your organisation behind your own corporate firewall.”
Preventing High-Profile Data Losses
The growing corporate interest in data protection strongly follows a number of high-profile cases where incredibly sensitive government information was accidentally left on public transport. In their official sales pitch, ExactTrak claims that 65 per cent of all recorded data losses are directly due to laptops and USB memory devices that simply go missing.
A comprehensive 2008 report shockingly found that more than 3,200 laptops and mobile phones containing highly sensitive information had been lost or stolen from various government departments.
ExactTrak is currently working closely with key government and corporate clients, rapidly developing a range of products that provide strict mobile data security and physical asset recovery. The service is available for a subscription fee of £25 a month.
