What is SafeStick? Or what is a safestick?
SafeStick is a secure USB stick. It automatically password-protects and encrypts all stored information. Replace your USB sticks with SafeSticks and assure information security at all times.

All stored information is 100% encrypted and the algorithm (AES256-CBC) fulfills government and military standards.
A full management and auditing console named SafeConsole is available. SafeConsole I able to manage thousands of SafeStick drives in a corporate environment.

SafeStick is a BlockMaster world-wide registered brand but has by many people become synonym with a secure USB flash drive.

Why would I need an encrypted USB Memory Stick?
Each year thousands, upon thousands, of unsecure USB drives are lost every day. The data upon these drives are completely exposed and will risk organisation brand value, business partner relationships, users’ employment and will mean non-compliance to local information legislation.
With SafeStick the secure USB stick your information is safeguarded. With SafeStick all your data is always password-protected and encrypted within the hardware. A lost device is merely a lost device, your data is safe and no breach will ever occur. If a lost SafeStick later on is found you can be 100% sure that the data is intact and has not been read or manipulated by anyone. Just plug it into the user computer and it is automatically “Found” and ready to work for you again. This saves money from day one as data breaches and surrounding routines and procedures are all costly. Not to mention the headaches you will avoid for all involved.

What happens if a user forgets the password for SafeStick?
It is not possible in any way to get access to stored information without the correct password. There are no back-doors and tests by independent security labs and customers have confirmed this over and over again. It is statistically and technically impossible to retrieve data. There are two options to continue:

If an organisation has SafeConsole deployed it is possible to perform a password reset if the SafeStick password is forgotten. The procedure credentials are unique for each organization and are handled with a secure PKI-based challenge response procedure that is protected against social hacking. No information is lost and the user is securely back to work in minutes. The password reset can be handled over phone, email or in person.
If SafeConsole is not installed the SafeStick needs to be factory reset. This procedure requires administrator privileges on the computer used. All stored data will be wiped and cannot be recreated by any means available as the storage is completely reset and the encryption keys are destroyed/renewed.
It is encourage that the user chooses a password hint during the quick SafeStick setup.

What sizes of SafeStick are available?
SafeStick will store from on 1GB to 64GB (*) making is the smallest secure USB drive with the largest storage capability in the world.
(*) 128GB soon: Q1 2010.

Which USB-ports is SafeStick compatible with?
SafeStick works on all available USB-ports, both 1.1 and 2.0 (high-speed/full-speed). The small form factor means that it will fit even is space is scarce as with close adjacent ports on ultra mobile laptops.

Does SafeStick require software-installations or admin rights?
No. Just plug the stick in and all necessary resources are run directly from the stick and no traces are left behind.

Can SafeStick be managed in a Corporate Environment?
SafeConsole allows you to manage hundreds of thousands of SafeStick drives wherever they may be in the world.

SafeConsole is rapidly deployed and provides optional Windows Active Directory integration, full management capabilities, complete device life-cycle management, assignment of policies and features dependant on AD membership, remote reset of passwords, compliant auditing, remote wiping of rogue sticks and much more.

How tough is SafeStick? Will it break?
SafeStick is a small device but it is also extremely though and rugged.

Some of the things SafeStick have proven to withstand:

Repeated rolling over by a 2500lb V8 Range Rover.
Repeated full washing machine cycles at the highest temperature.
30 seconds of red-hot angle grinder sparks.
A whack with a 10lb sledge iron smith hammer.
On Youtube there are several videos displaying SafeStick under extreme conditions

What operating systems does SafeStick support?
SafeStick supports Windows Seven/Vista/XP/Windows 2000 SP4/2003/2008. Using a Windows emulation through VM-ware access is possible on Unix, MacOSX and Linux. Native Mac is available and Linux-support is being developed.

How do I trial SafeStick and SafeConsole?
SafeStick can be used with or without SafeConsole, the SafeStick management console. Representatives for organizations can trial SafeStick and SafeConsole for free by applying here.

Which chip (micro processor) is used for encryption?
The chip is BM7741 (BlockMaster chipset 77 version 41) which is based on an Intel 8051-archictecture. BM7741 handles all security processes such as password validation, streaming encryption, key handling onboard the USB drive outside the host-computer.

Does SafeStick have a timer lock-down (timeout/lock) feature?
Yes, it is administrator or user configurable. If SafeStick is left behind or forgotten when unlocked it will automatically lock down after preset time interval.

How does SafeStick brute-force protection work?
If a SafeStick is subjected to a intrusion attempt that tries numerous passwords SafeStick will lock-down or factory reset (dependant on SafeConsole settings). The counter of faulty passwords cannot be reset and is handled within the embedded system onboard the SafeStick. There are no possibilities to tamper with this from a host computer.

How does SafeStick protect against physical tampering?
The circuitry of SafeStick is covered with environmentally friendly epoxy which means that tampering will be extremely time-consuming. Tampering by any means is result-less as all processes and data are encrypted.

How are the SafeStick encryption keys generated and stored?
The encryption keys (standard based AES256 CBC) are generated and stored securely onboard the embedded system. No copies or duplicates are kept anywhere else and cannot by any means be regenerated.

Why should the AES256 algorithm be used instead of AES128?
SafeStick uses AES256 to encrypt your information. AES 256-bit encryption is 340,282,366,920,938,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times as secure as 128-bit. 256-bit AES is the square of the strength of 128-bit encryption.

Can the SafeStick host application be manipulated?
No, it is encrypted at runtime and is bit sensitive. All security is handled in the embedded system but this helps to assure the solution integrity.

Is it possible to eavesdrop on SafeStick?
No the stream of data through the port is encrypted (RSA1024).

Software-encryption of USB memory is cheaper (or even free like TrueCrypt). What is wrong with these solutions?
Software encryption of portable USB storage, using file containers or file level encryption schemes, has multiple inherent problems that can prove very troublesome. Some of these can be security flaws, file corruption, high support costs, usability issues and that admin user rights are often required. The white-paper “7 Major Weaknesses of software-based USB security” outlines a selection of these flaws.

Where are the PKI-certificates stored that are used for the SafeStick feature ZoneBuilder (“Trusted zones”) and Password reset?
The certificates are stored encrypted and hidden outside the normal file system but are considered public information in data security terminology. The certificates cannot be used to access any information on the drive. The only token that can be used to access the device when performing a password reset or using ZoneBuilder is the private key that corresponds to the specific certificate. This private key is never stored on SafeStick but on a computer (SafeConsole server or trusted client computer for ZoneBuilder)