Kingston has announced the DataTraveler 5000 USB Flash drive, a FIPS 140-2 certified drive with 256-bit AES encryption.

"The DataTraveler 5000 delivers unsurpassed levels of security and encryption to government and enterprise customers," says company business manager for secure USB Products Mark Akoubian. "This portable data solution represents state-of-the-art data protection while providing end users with the simplicity of plug and play."

"[This] is one of the most secure drives you could ever buy, and frankly, it's probably more than you'll ever need unless [you're] a government spy," writes HotHardware's Shawn Oliver. "It uses XTS cipher mode and also uses elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) algorithms to meet Suite B standards approved by the U.S. government, so it's pretty safe to say that it'll keep your secret love letters safe as well."

"Kingston offers the drive in 2, 4, 8, and 16 GB capacities with pricing ranging from $111 to $400," writes TweakTown's Shane McGlaun.

More here from Electronista ... more here from Gadget Venue ... and the press release is here.

Lockheed Martin and IronKey have announced an advanced USB flash drive called IronClad.

"The brand new IronClad raises the bar of expectation for flash drives by shrinking a laptop's hard drive onto a sleek and compact device, including the complete operating system, files, and software applications," according to VentureLoop. "Users can plug the drive into any computer and gain secure and instant access to their own desktop and personal files."

"The entire works runs off the flash drive so the user's personal files and data never touches the host computer and when removed there is no trace that the flash drive was ever there," writes SlashGear's Shane McGlaun. "The IronClad device is encrypted with hardware-level protection against malware and rootkit"

"[The] drive is available starting at 8GB capacity and offers 256-bit military-grade encryption, built-in virus protection, and a rugged water- and shock-resistant metal casing," writes ZDNet's Andrew Nusca.

"Nothing on price yet, but soon government employees everywhere will be using them," writes SlipperyBrick's Conner Flynn.

More here from DeviceMAG ... more here from Engadget ... and more here from Electronista.

Buffalo Technology has introduced the $250 Dualie, a 500 GB portable hard drive that also serves as an iPhone or iPod dock.

"I got a sneak peek at this device last year and I was very impressed with the aesthetics as well as the quality of Dualie," writes Ali at Chip Chick.

"The device features 2 additional USB ports, and lets you sync your device with your computer and access the hard drive at the same time," writes SlipperyBrick's Conner Flynn.

More here from DVICE ... more here from Walyou ... and more here from Gizmodo.

This past week at CES, LaCie introduced a range of new CooKey and WhizKey key-shaped USB drives.

"Both the CooKey and WhizKey are available in capacities ranging from 4GB ($20) to 32GB ($100)," writes PC World's Roman Loyola. "According to LaCie, both devices feature transfer rates of up to 30MB per second. The drives use gold SIP technology, and are water- and scratch-resistant. LaCie includes a clear plastic cap to cover the USB conectors."

"The shape isn't just a novelty, either," writes ZDNet's Andrew J. Nusca. "The drives are made of metal, and are durable enough to actually leave on your key ring."

More here from CNET ... more here from PC Mag ... more here from Gizmag ... and more here from Ubergizmo.

A former Seagate Technology employee says the company destroyed evidence related to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Convolve, Inc.

"The whistle-blower, a former Seagate employee named Paul A. Galloway, has provided what is described as 'an eyewitness account' accusing Seagate of taking hard-drive technology from Convolve and incorporating it into its own products, according to documents filed recently with a federal court in Manhattan," write the NYT's Ashlee Vance and Diana B. Henriques.

"The nine-year-old patent infringement case alleges that Seagate misappropriated Convolve's Quick and Quiet technology, incorporating it as its own Sound Barrier Technology," writes Computerworld's Lucas Mearian. "Sound Barrier was originally used in Cheetah X15 hard drives in Compaq computers to make them run more smoothly and quietly. The software was developed using patented intellectual property under license by Convolve from MIT."

More here from TG Daily ... more here from eSecurityPlanet ... and more here from eWeek.