British Government approves hardware encrypted internal drives for up-to-Top Secret information

British Government approves hardware encrypted internal drives and USB disks for up-to-Top Secret information, making high level data security available to all.

Affordable, accessible, accredited technology means that there is no longer any excuse for data loss from any private or public sector organisation at any time: GFK NoP survey shows British Public is calling for accountability

March 26, 2009 - London, UK: Leading hardware encryption technology pioneer, the Stonewood Group, announces that its Eclypt range has received Her Majesty's Government CAPS (CESG-Approved Product Scheme) accreditation. This makes Stonewood's Eclypt range the only accredited devices available that reduce the protective marking of data at rest from Top Secret to Confidential.

Previously such devices were only accredited to Government and defence organisations as part of Stonewood's FlagStone range. The Eclypt range's accreditation means that now any organisation can be confident that its data is secured to the highest level at a fraction of the investment.

The CAPS accreditation was achieved after the Eclypt range went through a rigorous and long CESG testing process. The Eclypt range includes internal and external drives as well as a FIPS-approved USB memory stick.

The Stonewood Group is one of the few British manufacturing companies to be thriving in the current economic climate: "As a British company we are pleased to be the world's first to achieve the HMG CAPS accreditation for this level of data protection reduction," said Chris McIntosh, Stonewood Group CEO.

"This technology is now available to organisations that need to guarantee secure data up to the highest levels of security restriction. This breakthrough comes at a time when the public is clearly sceptical of how organisations and the Government manage their data. Now there is no excuse for data loss from any organisation at any time".

A recent nation-wide survey conducted by GFKNoP on behalf of the Stonewood Group revealed that 89% of those surveyed felt that negligence leading to data loss should become a criminal offence*.

John Carrington, former Crypto Custodian of the Metropolitan Police, who spoke about price reputation at today's launch of the newly accredited Eclypt range in central London said: "The public is aware that the safety of their personal information is at the mercy of each organisation's varying levels of commitment to sound data protection practices.

"What many organisations are only now starting to realise is that a dented reputation as a result of a single data loss incident will remain in the public's consciousness for years to come, not to mention hamper safe information exchange between organisations and national security."

The Stonewood Group is in support of the ongoing call for action from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for organisations to commit to stringent data protection practices.

* GFKNoP survey findings available in Appendix 1

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About the Stonewood Group www.Stonewoodgroup.co.uk 
The Stonewood Group is an innovative British solutions-driven company that designs and manufactures the industry leading FlagStone and Eclypt ranges of hardware encrypted drives.

Trusted globally by Governments, Defence, Law enforcement agencies as well as the world's foremost financial, banking and medical corporations, the Eclypt range is widely-recognised for its fit and forget, tamper proof and fully secure solution for data encryption needs.

Summary of GFK NoP Survey Findings

- 61% of respondents felt Prime Minister Gordon Brown's admission that the current government "can't promise that every single item of information will always be safe" was unacceptable.
Back in November 2008 Gordon Brown said "I think it's important to recognize that we can't promise that every single item of information will always be safe because mistakes are made by human beings.

- 66% of respondents worry about data losses or identity theft, with 3% already being affected.

- 65% of those surveyed felt that their personal information would NOT be safe for the proposed national identity card scheme.

- A staggering 89% of Britons believe that it should be a criminal offence for a Government department or private sector business to negligently lose data.

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