Its mTrust system, which has now become available in the US and Europe, is designed to solve the problems of managing the use of a variety of USB devices inside and outside the enterprise network perimeter.
Up until now the choice has been to block their use completely, or to leave the network wide open to their use, said Nimrod Reichenberg, director for enterprise solutions at Msystems. With mTrust, the security of USB devices can now be treated in much the same way as we use to secure laptops and with the same type of management processes.
The system uses software agents to enforce device usage policy, record the current status of a device, audit its use, and back up all relevant data. The use of software agents maintains a level of visibility which extends beyond the network, Reichenberg said.
The system will also remotely disable a lost or stolen device. Once an mTrust-readied USB flash drive or device is plugged into a PC the user is presented with a password screen that secures access or effectively locks the device against brute force attacks.
These mTrust USBs, which come in a series of 512K to 8GB memory stick formats, are used in conjunction with the mTrust Shield policy management and port control software. This prevents unauthorized use of any secured USB device and controls data transfers to and from any mTrust-readied USB-based digital camera, MP3 player, floppy or CD drive, or Bluetooth-enabled smart phone.
Prices start at $20 per end point protected by mTrust Shield, and another $20 to $40 per agent or device secured for the management system. The Msystems product will compete in the market with the likes of the RedCannon KeyPoint Alchemy line, and the U3 Platform.
The proposed $1.37bn takeover by SanDisk is scheduled to close between December 2006 and April of 2007.
