Kingston To Replace Select Flash Drives For Improved Security

Slip-ups and the like happen, but they're never fun to deal with. Thankfully, Kingston is helping those affected by their latest goof get over the bitter taste by giving them a new, bug-free replacement. In a world full of lackluster customer service, this is a welcome change to the norm. Evidently, a number of Kingston's DataTraveler Blackbox, DataTraveler Secure – Privacy Edition (DTSP) and DataTraveler Elite – Privacy Edition (DTEP) were shipped with inadequate security protocols, but the company will be replacing affected drives with new units that include "an improved security architecture."

Kingston is offering its customers the following: a FIPS-certified replacement for the DTBB; and the DataTraveler Vault – Privacy Edition for the DTSP and DTEP. The reason is because they were notified in December by a third-party security consulting firm that the DataTraveler BlackBox, DataTraveler Secure – Privacy Edition and DataTraveler Elite – Privacy Edition contained a potential security flaw, and we're guessing that independent verification confirmed the story. John Holland, vice president, U.S. sales, Kingston, voices his opinion here:

"We have decided the best way to address this problem is to offer our customers replacement units that incorporate newer and stronger security architecture. Since we were first notified of the potential hack, we have concluded that exchanging drives is the proper solution for our customers." Customers who own one of the affected drives should contact Kingston's Customer Service Department for full details of our standard return process. For the customer service phone number in your region, visit www.kingston.com/driveupdate.