Given the investment you have to make in installing software and setting up a master thumb print you'd think biometric USB flash drives must be secure! The question is whether it's the right sort of security for the task in hand?

Biometric security has some useful applications, particularly where usage can be overseen, such as controlling entry into secure zones. However, for applications where the entry device can be hacked in private, specifically for lost or stolen mobile data storage devices, StegoStik believes biometric access is fundamentally insecure:

•  Did you know how easy it is for someone to activate your biometric device using a fingerprint you left somewhere (like on the sensor)? If not, then read this study.

•  If you're working in hostile environments (eg. intelligence agents, aid workers), it's difficult to say you don't know your thumbprint. And once you're unconscious, your secrets are no more.

Biometric devices have practical problems, too:

•  It becomes difficult to use the devices like giant floppy disks - you can't just give them to a client or colleague and invite them to remove their files. Do you really want to be reaching behind their machine to give your thumb print?

•  Around 1% of people can't register a fingerprint. What will you do for them?

Fortunately there is a better solution: StegoStik™ Enterprise devices. With mandatory encryption and minimum passphrase characteristics specified by the purchaser, data will always be securely encrypted. Furthermore, StegoStik's patented data hiding technology means that even a forensic scientist cannot tell whether a device contains any data to try to hack - a significant deterrent.

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