Toshiba Unveils Self-Erasing SATA Hard Drives

Toshiba has announced a line of hard-disk drives that include the power to either automatically erase data or lockdown information beyond the reach of unintended users.

Geared toward government workers, enterprise employees, and international spies, the new line, named MKxx61GSYS, protects against data theft by executing a self-erase procedure that launches under circumstances determined by the user; for instance, when the drive is attached to an unfamiliar notebook. The user can also determine exactly which files are set for erasure or placed into encrypted protection.

With five size options ranging from 160GB to 640GB, the SATA-based MK series will help IT departments sleep soundly at night knowing their clients’ notebooks are protected by AES 256 encryption and “Opal” security specifications from the Trusted Computing Group.

That is, of course, when the hard drives begin shipping in notebooks. Though Toshiba showed off the new hardware in Japan this week, the company says the products will be released only to “a few select customers sometime in the second quarter”.

Via CNET