Sharkoon Swift-Case Securita

by Marco Chiappetta — Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 11:15 AM EDT

Sharkoon Swift-Case Securita:

With RFID encryption to protect against unauthorized access for 2.5" SATA hard drives

In order to offer customers the best possible protection against data thieves, Sharkoon is expanding its Swift-Case line up of external hard drive enclosures by adding a model with RFID access control. The Sharkoon Swift-Case Securita for 2.5" SATA hard drives comes equipped with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology that protects against unauthorized access. Within the silver aluminium enclosure sits a RFID transceiver that responds solely to the accompanying RFID transponder. The transponder comes in a simple plastic fob design that attaches securely to key chains.

As a part of the initial setup, the RFID transceiver and transponder go through a coding process in order establish a unique encryption key. After the coding process, the hard drive can be locked or unlocked with a simple wave of the transponder in front of the sensor on the enclosure. In its locked state the hard drive is not recognized by computers or operating systems. The radio frequency itself is also protected by 128-bit AES encryption. Up to three different hard drives can be encrypted and protected by any one Swift-Case Securita, and then swapped in and out of the one enclosure. When unlocked, these additional hard drives can be used by directly connecting them to a computer or through a separate external housing; however, in their locked state access is not possible even when directly connected to a computer or through an external hard drive enclosure. A replacement transponder is also included and configured as a backup during the initial setup.

The Swift-Case Securita transfers data to computers via USB 2.0 and power is provided through an included USB Y cable that uses the power from a second USB port. Supported operating systems include Windows 2000/XP/Vista (32 bit), Mac OS 9.x/10.x and Linux from version 9.1. Included with the package users will find two RFID transponders, a USB Y cable (2x USB A / 1x mini-USB), screw driver, transport bag and an instruction manual.

Tags: case, Sharkoon, SEC, ita, Swift, AR, K

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com