Hitachi and Phoenix Technologies today announced that they have joined forces in order to deliver next-generation mobile PC security on notebooks equipped with Hitachi hard-disk drives. The upcoming laptops will feature the Phoenix FailSafe theft-deterrence service that will allow their owners to track, disable and securely erase the disk drive from a remote location via Internet.

"Increasingly, leading notebook PC manufacturers depend on Hitachi to gain a competitive advantage through our hard drives, which include 128-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) technology to protect consumers' valuable and sensitive information," said Masaru Masuda, Director of Product Planning, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.

Everything is about data confidentiality in the nowadays mobile world and Hitachi will implement the FailSafe agent on its encrypted hard disk drives. Should the laptop get stolen, the legit owner of the system will be able to remotely control or install the FailSafe agent, then operate the data on the hard-disk as if the notebook were in front of them.

"All of our 2007 and 2008 models of 2.5-inch mobile hard drives can be enabled at the factory to utilize powerful AES-128 encryption engine, which is part of the drive electronics SOC (System-on-Chip). In addition to providing data at rest protection by on the fly data encryption, simple deletion of the 128-bit encryption key enables cryptographically secure erase of the drive. By incorporating Phoenix FailSafe technology with our mobile hard drives, OEMs can deliver advanced security to prevent data loss and theft. The ability to remotely and securely erase or disable disk drives on mobile PCs offers the next-generation protection our customers need to stand apart from competitors."

The latest reports of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse allege that more than 200 million sensitive and confidential records have been exposed to unauthorized staff through security breaches and hijacking operations in the U.S. over the past three years, with laptop theft and loss accounting for 45 percent of data breaches.

"By partnering with laptop drive manufacturers such as Hitachi, we can help prevent data theft and associated crimes like identity theft by extending FailSafe protection to laptops which contain sensitive personal and professional information. With Phoenix FailSafe protection, PC owners can remotely protect, encrypt and securely erase the vital content stored on their hard drives. FailSafelocation-based technology also allows the owner to locate and recover lost or stolen laptops, or even remotely disable the unit if necessary to prevent potential misuse," said Surendra Arora, Vice President of Business Development at Phoenix Technologies.