Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), a provider of small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), and Wave Systems Corp., a provider of trusted computing applications and services, announced Wednesday an alliance to develop a standards-based solution for the secure encryption of data on mobile computing platforms, such as laptop PCs.
The full disk encryption solution integrates Toshiba's HDD encryption technology and an enhanced version of Wave's EMBASSY Trusted Drive Manager and Remote Administration Server products for the management and administration of encrypting hard drives.
Toshiba and Wave will demonstrate development versions of these products at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, later this month.
Toshiba SDD, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS), develops, designs and manufactures small form factor 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch hard disk drives. Toshiba SDD markets peripherals to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), VARs (value-added resellers), VADs (value-added dealers), SIs (systems integrators), distributors and retailers in the United States.
Headquartered in Irvine, California, TAIS is comprised of four business units including digital products division, imaging systems division, storage device division and telecommunication systems division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including portable computers, projectors, imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets, storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications, and telephony equipment and associated applications.
TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its range of information products in the US and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp., which offers high technology and integrated manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems, as well as major infrastructure systems. Toshiba has more than 198,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of surpassing US$ 76 billion for fiscal year 2007.
Wave provides software to help solve critical enterprise PC security challenges such as strong authentication, data protection, network access control and the management of these enterprise functions.
Wave is a provider of hardware-based PC security and a founding member of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), a consortium of nearly 140 PC industry leaders that forged open standards for hardware security.
Wave's EMBASSY line of client- and server-side software leverages and manages the security functions of the TCG's industry standard hardware security chip, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). TPMs are included on tens of millions of PCs and are standard equipment on many enterprise-class PCs shipping today. Using TPMs and Wave software, enterprises can substantially and cost-effectively strengthen their current security solutions.
Wave has extended its client software, EMBASSY Trust Suite (ETS), which includes the Trusted Drive Manager, and the EMBASSY Remote Administration Server, to provide cross-vendor support for encrypting HDDs from multiple disk drive OEMs, including Toshiba's HDD encryption technology. ETS also manages other PC trusted computing hardware components such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPM), biometric finger print sensors and smart card readers. ETS is a trusted computing software, with more than 30 million copies shipped through Wave's major PC OEM partners.
Toshiba's HDD encryption technology uses design principles from the evolving draft specifications for trusted storage devices. The solution provides high-performance data encryption integrated into the drive hardware, with protection of the encryption keys and secure authentication as integral elements of the HDD design. Availability of Toshiba HDD models incorporating the encrypting technology will be announced at a later date.
"Stronger security for information on mobile PCs is becoming a high-demand feature as customers look for solutions to protect sensitive personal and business data," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division. "Building on our legacy of HDD innovation and technology leadership, our partnership with Wave Systems enhances our current encryption technology platform and provides mobile PC manufacturers with advanced security features to deliver the data protection mobile users require."
When combined, Toshiba and Wave's components provide a highly secure, easy-to-use and remotely manageable data protection solution for mobile PCs. Wave's solution also assists enterprises with the compliance assertion tools required by many stringent data protection laws and regulations worldwide.
"As trusted computing hardware, including encrypting HDDs, becomes integrated into more mobile PCs, having components and software designed with common principles centered on strong access and data security becomes important for interoperability and cross platform management," said Lark Allen, executive vice president, Wave Systems. "Wave Systems is committed to being an industry leader in implementing existing and developing trusted computing standards. Toshiba's HDD encryption technology represents an important step toward delivering strong access security to enhance the protection of data -- particularly data on mobile PCs."
