Deerfield Beach, Fla. - Systematic Development Group (SDG) has introduced the Lok-It, an armored flash drive with a 10-key PIN pad and military-grade 256-bit encryption technology.

The anodized aluminum-cased USB drive requires the entry of a seven-digit-or-more user-generated custom PIN code to access its contents. The drive remains invisible to the device until the correct PIN is entered. The user has 30 seconds to insert Lok-It into the USB drive or it automatically self locks.

Ten incorrect PIN attempts will immediately delete both the PIN and the encryption key, requiring a reformatting of the drive. The drive is recoverable but the data is not.

Because the PIN is entered directly on the drive it is impervious to hackers and keyboard loggers. The drive ships disabled and cannot be used without a PIN being set.

The drive is plug and play with no driver software required. It works with all operating systems.

Physically, Lok-It features a self-contained hardware-based security system that separates the encryption key into its own security controller, adding a layer of data protection. The entire cryptographic module is encapsulated in an epoxy resin to render it useless upon forced entry.

SDG VP John Tate told TWICE initial marketing efforts are being directed to the enterprise side, specifically the medical and health care industries, and government entities, because Lok-It meets Federal  Information Processing Standards (FIPS) for security and encryption. But, Tate acknowledged, consumer sales are a significant part of the product roadmap going forward.

Lok-It also meets the International Protection Rating (IP57) for dust resistance and is waterproof up to 1-meter of immersion.

Lok-It is available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB models at retails of $80, $100 and $170, respectively.