Enabling Optimal Security for Removable Storage Devices

Traditional protection for storage devices associated with the PC requires encrypting the hard disk drive to protect high-capacity memory, or using smart cards/tokens when very small amount of data must be protected. Over the past seven years, many new type of removable storage devices have been introduced. Typically, these devices can store up to 8-gigabytes (GB) of personal user files or corporate data. This paper discusses the requirements to create a security platform for removable storage devices, and the associated trade-offs for implementing security on these devices in general and on removable cards, in particular.