Imation Bolsters Security on Most of Its Products

Imation, best known for its economical consumer-oriented optical and flash products for offline storage, has reinforced the security apparatus for most of its product line.
The Oakdale, Minn.-based company, one of the world’s most diverse data storage providers, unveiled on April 30 a set of secure layers for products that range from external hard drives to flash drives to DVDs and Blu-Ray discs to tape storage.
Imation’s new Defender Collection line has been engineered to meet updated international and domestic encryption benchmarks, along with other new standards, Keith Schwartz, director of strategic growth for Imation’s global commercial business, told eWEEK.
Imation, which also owns the Memorex, TDK and XtremeMac brands, does a high percentage of its business providing enterprise storage products and services — largely for government agencies and other large enterprises, Schwartz said.
“We are basically turning all our storage offerings into secure storage solutions,” Schwartz said, “in order to protect data from government, financial, health care, consumer and other industries from hackers, identity thieves and other electronic intruders. Data breaches are costing U.S. enterprises at least $45 billion each year.”
The new products are FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards)-validated and manufactured in the United States, both key requirements for U.S. government users, Schwartz said.
The new portfolio incorporates MXI Security’s technologies for user authentication, digital identity and data encryption, including MXI’s patent-pending Bluefly Processor technology, into Imation-branded Defender USB flash and external hard drives, Schwartz said.
The line also includes a secure, printable optical media line of CD, DVD and Blu-ray media utilizing Encryptx EncryptDisc AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256-bit encryption and burning technology, Schwartz said.
In addition, Imation’s DataGuard Tape Tracking System, DataGuard Transportation and Storage Cases, SecureScan for LTO tape cartridges, and DataGuard GPS (available in Europe currently), have been reinforced.
All the new Imation secure storage products will be made available in the May-June time frame, Schwartz said.
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