FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the release of its first Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)-validated USB Flash drive, the DataTraveler(R) BlackBox, shipping immediately in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities.

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Gaining FIPS 140-2 certification requires a validation process that meets federal requirements set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Communications Security Establishment of the Government of Canada. This is critical because many governmental agencies in the United States and Canada mandate that sensitive "data at rest" (i.e., all information not in the network) must be encrypted with the FIPS 140-2 standard.

"We are very excited that our DataTraveler BlackBox met all federal requirements established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)," said Mark Akoubian, Flash memory product manager, Kingston(R). "This certification, along with other enhanced security features makes the DT BlackBox an ideal way to store and transport confidential documents with the utmost confidence that the data is secure."

The FIPS Level 2 standard requires the DT BlackBox to run a power-on self test which verifies that the encryption architecture is functioning each time it is plugged into a USB port. Beyond the NIST certification, the DataTraveler BlackBox features 256-bit hardware-based AES encryption via a dedicated processor which automatically encrypts and decrypts data on the fly. The drive automatically locks down after ten consecutive failed password attempts, thus helping to prevent unauthorized access if the drive is lost, stolen or misplaced.

                          Kingston DataTraveler BlackBox

    Part Number        Capacity and Features                MSRP (U.S. only)
    DTBB/2GB           DataTraveler BlackBox 2GB            $ 165.00
    DTBB/4GB           DataTraveler BlackBox 4GB            $ 242.00
    DTBB/8GB           DataTraveler BlackBox 8GB            $ 424.00

    DataTraveler BlackBox Features and Product Specifications:
    -- Full Privacy - 100 percent of stored data is protected by 256-bit
       Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware-based encryption
    -- Ultra fast - data transfer rates of up to 24 MB/sec. read and up to
       20 MB/sec. write (1)
    -- Secure - drive locks down and reformats after 10 intrusion attempts
    -- Enforced password protection - password is user set with minimum
       characteristics to prevent unauthorized access
    -- Easy to

 use - no admin rights or application installation required
    -- Waterproof - protected against water damage
    -- Guaranteed - five-year warranty with 24/7 customer support
    -- Ruggedized - waterproof and titanium-coated stainless steel casing
    -- Dimensions - 3.06" x 0.9" x 0.47" (77.9 mm x 22 mm x 12.05 mm)
    -- Capacities - 2GB, 4GB, 8GB (+)
    -- Minimum System Requirements -
         - USB 2.0 compliant and 1.1 compatible
         - Two (2) free consecutive drive letters required for use (++)
    -- Operating System - Windows Vista (32-bit only); Windows 2000 (SP3,
       SP4); Windows XP (SP1, SP2)
    -- Guaranteed - five-year warranty - 24/7 technical support

    (1)  Speed may vary due to host hardware, software and usage.
    (+)  Please note: Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and
         other functions and thus is not available for data storage. For more
         information, please consult Kingston's Flash Memory Guide at
         kingston.com/Flash_Memory_Guide.
    (++) First free drive letters after physical devices such as system
         partition, optical drives, etc.

To view Kingston's FIPS 140-2 Validation Certificate No. 929, please visit: http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140crt/140crt929.pdf

    Detailed information about FIPS security levels and procedures can be
found at:
http://www.csrc.nist.gov/cryptval/140-2.htm
http://www.csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips140-2/fips1402.pdf

FIPS Validated 140-2 is a Certification Mark of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which does not imply product endorsement by NIST, the U.S. or Canadian Governments.

For more information on Kingston or its products visit the Web site at: http://www.kingston.com.

About Kingston Technology Company, Inc.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world's largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and sales representatives in the United States, Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Taiwan, China, and Latin America. For more information, please call 800-337-8410 or visit http://www.kingston.com.

Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders.

SOURCE Kingston Technology Company, Inc.