Da Vinci Code inspires secure USB drive

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://news.techworld.com/security/3322875/da-vinci-code-inspires-secure-usb-drive/

By John E Dunn
Techworld
05 December 2011

Taking inspiration from Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, a US startup has 
fused a USB flash drive with a ‘Cryptex’ device, a metal cylinder that 
can only be opened by setting the correct combination on a rotating 
barrel.

The latest Crypteks (notice the different spelling) is not the first 
device of its kind – designs have been circulating on the Internet since 
the Da Vinci code resurrected what is probably an older idea – but it 
does look like the most interesting to date.

The external 8cm barrel comprises five aluminium alloy rotating rings on 
which each has printed the 26 letters of the English alphabet. Removing 
the USB flash drive from within the cylinder involves entering the 
correct combination of which there are 14,348,907 possible combinations 
thanks to the decision to adopt letters on each ring rather than 
numbers.

The USB drive contained within the barrel uses 256-bit AES encryption, 
adding another layer of security to the physical design, with a 
customisable auto-format option for incorrectly-entered passwords.

[...]

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