Toshiba launches self-encrypting, auto-wiping HDD

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Apr 2011 6:22 User comments (11)

Starting mass production in the coming months, Toshiba has introduced its new MKxx61GSYG 2.5-inch HDD, a drive that offers multiple levels of security for professionals.

MKxx61GSYG drives will wipe or encrypt all data if connected to an unknown host.

The drives will be marketed to corporate customers within the medical, government and banking fields, says Toshiba.

Whenever the drive is powered on, it will initiate authentication with the host and if it that process fails, the data is "invalidated."

Buyers have a few options for the drive. Access can either be denied, the drive can be wiped, certain blocks of info can be wiped, or certain data ranges are deleted every time the drive fails the authentication process.

The drive uses military-grade AES 256-bit encryption and will be available in up to 640GB.

There is no word on price, yet.

Tags: hard drive encryption Toshiba MKxx61GSYG

<Spotify to put limits on free music >Sorry older devices, HTC's Sense 3.0 is picky

11 user comments

114.4.2011 19:03

ph1lch

Send private message to this user

Newbie

cool, lets hope this is avaiable to consumers as well :)

214.4.2011 19:52

bobiroc

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Hmm can't wait for the first person to forget their authentication and accidentally wipe their drive. Better have a good backup.

314.4.2011 20:46

statomike

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

I hope it's also camouflaged as a more rudimentary drive. Otherwise anyone that has a need to will just transfer platters to another controller and run decryption from there.

414.4.2011 23:45

KillerBug

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Quote:
Whenever the drive is powered on, it will initiate authentication with the host and if it that process fails, the data is "invalidated."

That is a bit unclear...what happens if the process just ends without failing? Is there a password, fingerprint reader, or eye scanner involved? Is it just confirming that it is still in the same laptop (in which case, this wouldn't provide much security at all)?

515.4.2011 09:48

dali

Send private message to this user

Member

... And, one more thing to consider. If the drive authenticates the host, what happpens if the host gets damaged?

615.4.2011 10:36

Fitvideouk

Inactive

Great for Paedos and terrorrists... that must be the target market surely , as Government and medical stuff always gets leaked / hacked ...

715.4.2011 10:45

mystic

Send private message to this user

Member

oh yes we all want a drive that if its pulled from our machine that it can tell that its been stolen or can it if I hook this drive up as a secondary drive and not boot to it bet ya I can still get the data.. or if I clone the drive the run a password picker like ( Orphus )that reads rainbow tables I can get in...its only as good as the person who wrote the software it will be hacked as soon as it becomes public... sorry its just better to know where your stuff is and if its that important burn it to a dvd and put it in a safe off site...

815.4.2011 12:53

shortybob

Send private message to this user

Member

Next, a virus that unmounts, remounts and fails authentication to wipe the target's drives.

915.4.2011 13:02

Mr-Movies

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Just wait for a hardware failure, fix the PC and Auto Wipe-Ola all data gone, Oooops!

But there will be a way around this which means those who want to hack it still can of course. Waste of money would be my guess.

1015.4.2011 21:01

kfir1

Send private message to this user

Member

Is this stealth also?

1115.4.2011 22:23

Notcow

Send private message to this user

Member

Well, it's not for average consumer use...it says it's for bankers and government workers and such, so they dont have to worry about their laptop dying, because they are usually replaced by the company.

It looks like it's really designed to store sensitive documents and financial information for huge corperations...An average consumer may have a problem with the HDD, but yeah, it's not designed for them...

Comments have been disabled for this article.

	YouTube Premium starts showing ads to subscribers (13 Nov 2024 3:09) For years, YouTube Premium has been marketed as a way to enjoy an ad-free YouTube experience. But apparently, that is no longer the case, as Premium subscribers are now starting to see ads on the platform. 1 user comment
	Android 16 will launch sooner than expected (01 Nov 2024 6:45) Google announced that upcoming Android 16 will break the traditional once-a-year cycle of major Android launches. Next Android is poised to launch in Q2 of 2025, so Android 16 should ship before end of June, 2025.
	Winamp ends its "open source" project that wasn't really open source (20 Oct 2024 11:12) Less than a month after the legendary MP3 player Winamp made its source code public, the company has made a sudden U-turn and removed its code from distribution. 2 user comments
	Winamp released its source code - but didn't go open source (25 Sep 2024 12:38) The source code of Winamp has now been officially released. However, it hasn't become a pure open-source project, as its licensing terms prohibit the creation of new, different versions.
	Does your phone rattle? Here's why it happens (25 Aug 2024 8:30) When you shake your phone and hear a light rattle, clatter, or jingle, it's likely not broken. The culprit is probably the optical image stabilization (OIS) system in your phone's camera, meaning everything is functioning as it should. 2 user comments

	Guide: Is Your Wi-Fi Sluggish or Slow? Here's How to Fix Do you have problems with you Wi-Fi? Slow connection or is it cutting off constantly? This guide aims to remedy these problems. 1 user comment
	Does your phone rattle? Here's why it happens When you shake your phone and hear a light rattle, clatter, or jingle, it's likely not broken. The culprit is probably the optical image stabilization (OIS) system in your phone's camera, meaning everything is functioning as it should. 2 user comments
	GUIDE: Wi-Fi speeds are slow? Here are some tips Having problems with Wi-Fi speed and stability at home? Here are some tips to follow to alleviate the issues. 1 user comment
	What happens if you don't update Android? Sometimes it can be tempting to avoid updating to a new Android version. What happens if you decide to delay major updates to the OS?
	Guide: Phone battery drains quickly - how to fix (iPhone / Android) In this guide, we go through the most typical reasons for rapid battery drain with phones, and look at potential reasons or solutions.

Toshiba launches self-encrypting, auto-wiping HDD

11 user comments

Latest news

Reviews

Guides

News archive

Subscribe

Sections:

Follow us:

	Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review - obstacle avoidance doesn't work as it should, otherwise almost perfect robot vacuum We put the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra through a very, very long review process. The $1800 mopping robot vacuum is almost perfect, but its obstacle avoidance was surprisingly bad, considering the price - and compared to its competitors.
	Sharge x OnePlus Pouch review: Beautiful power bank that supports SuperVOOC charging In our review, we take a look at Sharge's power bank that supports OnePlus SuperVOOC quick charging technology as well as standard USB PD charging. It has small design flaws, but despite those, the Pouch is very nice product. 1 user comment
	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.