SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - June 22, 2010) - SPYRUS, Inc. today announced that their Hydra Privacy Card^® (Hydra PC™) Personal Encryption Device has acquired additional approval by the US National Security Agency (NSA) for protecting data at rest when used with a PC running Microsoft Windows 7. 

The patented Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device was the first and is still the only commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) USB encryption device approved to protect tactical data in accordance with CNSS Instruction 4009 at the SECRET level and below, when used with the approved operational security doctrine.

The Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device is validated to FIPS 140-2 Level 3, and exceeds the new security requirements recently issued by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) Computer Task Order (CTO) for encrypted flash drives approved for use on DoD networks.

Need more storage? Insert a microSD card from any source. Because the security is built into the base unit, the Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device offers infinite memory expandability. Without the base unit to decrypt it, the encrypted information is fully protected even if the card is moved to a generic card reader or to a different Personal Encryption Device.

The Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device, like its big brother the Hydra PC Digital Attaché, protects your data no matter where it is stored -- on the drive, on your PC, or in the cloud, because every file is encrypted with a unique AES-256 bit CBC key. Think of it like a bank vault with individual safe deposit boxes.

Both Hydra PC devices offer secure data containment by limiting the use of a specific device to administrator-authorized computers within a defined security domain, preventing both removal of sensitive data and unauthorized access to the Hydra PC or its data, and blocking the use of non-approved "rogue" USB storage devices. Even with the correct password, the encrypted data cannot be decrypted outside of the security domain.

The Hydra PC Digital Attaché adds the capability to securely share encrypted files and the removable micoSD memory with other designated Hydra PC Digital Attaché devices. No other encrypting drive has this capability.

A third member of the Hydra Privacy Card family is the Kingston DataTraveler® 5000 Secured By SPYRUS™. Designed as a high-security replacement for conventional secure flash drives from IronKey, MXI, and SanDisk, this device can be used on any PC.

Hydra PC devices protect your data with advanced hardware security by drawing upon XTS-AES 256, AES 256 CBC, ECDH, ECDSA, ECC P-384, and SHA-384, which make up the National Security Agency's Suite B cryptography.

"Once again, we are extremely proud to have worked closely with NSA to qualify the commercial Hydra Privacy Card Personal Encryption Device for use on the latest operating systems to safeguard tactical data at the SECRET level," said Tom Dickens, SPYRUS Chief Operating Officer. "Because we know that one size does not fit all, we offer a family of USB encryption drives. Whether you need a works-anywhere secure encrypting drive like the Kingston DataTraveler 5000, want to move classified data between systems, or need to share data among a group of authorized users, we have a solution for you, all based on the same hardware security platform. Since that platform is secure enough to protect classified data, it's more than secure enough to protect commercially sensitive or personally identifiable data."

The Hydra Privacy Card Personal Encryption Device and other Secured by SPYRUS™ USB encryption devices can be ordered through several government contracts. Email sales@spyrus.com for more information.

About SPYRUS, Inc.
SPYRUS holds patents in the U.S. and abroad that enable solutions for secure authentication, secure communication, and full disk encryption, as well as patents relating to data protection and rights management for digital content. Secured by SPYRUS™ security technology is designed, developed, and manufactured in the USA to meet FIPS 140-2 Level 3 standards. SPYRUS is headquartered in San Jose, California. See www.spyrus.com for more information.

SPYRUS, the SPYRUS logo, Secured by SPYRUS, Hydra Privacy Card, Hydra PC, and Digital Attaché are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SPYRUS, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. All other company, organization, and product names are trademarks of their respective organizations.

The National Security Agency's USB Flash Drive Program has developed specifications for physically transferring SECRET data between secure enclaves. SPYRUS, Inc. asserts that the Hydra PC meets NSA's USB Flash Drive specifications, documented in the "Universal Serial Bus (USB) Flash Drive Personal Token for Tactical SECRET Minimum Essential Requirements 1.0," and as such, is acceptable for use in national security systems.