The SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB Features A Compact Slider Design For Easy Portability. (Photo: Business Wire)

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that it is offering encryption and online backup features across its entire retail USB portfolio. SanDisk ^® SecureAccess ^™ software protects files against unauthorized access by creating an encrypted, password-protected folder or “vault” on the USB drive. The software also includes up to 2 gigabytes (GB) ¹ of secure online backup storage offered by Dmailer ².

The SanDisk Ultra USB drive features up to 15MB/sec transfer speeds. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Business travelers lose more than 12,000 laptops each week in U.S. airports, and more than half of those laptops contain confidential or sensitive information*,” said Kent Perry, director, product marketing, SanDisk. “Data security has become an absolute necessity, and SanDisk USB drives with SecureAccess software offer an easy to use vault protected by AES encryption.”

Encryption and online backup features will be shipping on SanDisk’s entire retail USB portfolio later in the first quarter of this year.

SanDisk SecureAccess Software

• Password-protected “vault” automatically secures files with 128-bit AES encryption, protecting against unauthorized access in case the drive is lost or stolen.
• Secure partition lets consumers determine which files remain private when sharing a USB drive with colleagues or friends.
• Additional protection against computer crashes and data loss is optionally available for users with up to 2GB of secure online backup from Dmailer. Remotely access online data anytime, anywhere, and easily share large files over the cloud.
• Easy to use drag and drop functionality; the vault’s capacity on the USB flash drive adjusts automatically as content is added or removed.
• Currently shipping on select SanDisk USB drives.

SanDisk is also expanding its USB product portfolio with two new drives to meet the needs of a broad set of customers. The SanDisk Ultra ^® USB flash drive features faster transfer rates and the SanDisk Cruzer ^® Edge ^™ USB drive offers easy portability.

SanDisk Ultra USB Flash Drive

The SanDisk Ultra USB flash drive features faster transfer speeds of up to 15 megabytes per second (MB/sec) ³ and large storage capacities that help consumers conveniently manage libraries of multimedia content. The drive carries a five year limited warranty ⁴ and comes in 8GB to 32GB capacities carrying suggested retail prices ranging from $44.99 to $109.99.

SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB Flash Drive

Featuring a compact slider design for easy portability, the SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB flash drive allows consumers to bring their photos, music and videos with them wherever they go. The drive carries a two year limited warranty ⁵ and is available in 2GB to 16GB capacities carrying suggested retail prices ranging from $12.99 to $79.99.

Availability

The SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB flash drive is available to retailers worldwide now and will be available at www.sandisk.com later this month. The SanDisk Ultra USB flash drive will be available to retailers worldwide and at www.sandisk.com later this quarter.

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards – from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk’s product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

¹ 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage.

² Registration required. Terms and conditions apply.

³ Up to 15MB/s read speed. Up to 10 MB/sec write speed applies to the first 20 MB of data transfer. Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes.

⁴ Five year warranty in regions not recognizing "limited" warranty.

⁵ Two year warranty in regions not recognizing "limited" warranty.

*Source: Airport Insecurity, Ponemon Institute, 6-30-2008