The Challenge Corporations Face
Today's businesses are faced with some of the biggest challenges in managing, protecting, and securing sensitive data. More than ever, corporations and small businesses alike are having to keep up with ever-changing technologies that provide vast avenues for information breach, having to protect themselves from vicious cyber-attacks, and manage sensitive information, all while running a business during tough economic times.
At the same time, governments are cracking down on loosely protected information in light of some of the most harmful data breaches in history. The likelihood of an attack from internet hackers, devious viruses, or the consequences of a lost or stolen device with sensitive information are real life scenarios that could bring down a business in a heartbeat. Just recently an article in InformationWeek Security described how Sony was slapped with a $390,000 data breach fine under the Data Protection Act after the Commissioner found the company to be "much too lax in protecting customer information." 1
Hardware Encryption VS. Software Encryption
Kanguru diligently provides small businesses and corporations with AES 256-Bit Hardware Encrypted secure flash drives and external drives. The Kanguru Defender series is among the best when it comes to locking down information. But companies have often tried to cut costs by going with cheaper software-encrypted alternatives on the market in the hopes that it is secure enough. Although there are many affordable software encryption options available out there today for organizations, software encryption may not fully provide the security businesses need to protect sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands. Hardware Encryption is more robust, but does it really offer a better solution to software encryption?
Resham Ganglani, Business Development Director of Halodata International, and one of Kanguru's leading distributors suggests in a recent article by ZDNet that although software encryption is better than no encryption at all, it does not offer the robustness a corporation would require.
"Software encryption is definitively better than no encryption," says Ganglani, "But while recommending it for personal usage, he discouraged the use of software-based encryption for businesses. "[Software encryption] is too slow, dependent on installed software and in some cases, easy to crack. I definitely would not recommend it for corporate use." 1
Although Hardware Encryption can come with a higher price tag than software encryption, when it comes to Data Loss Prevention, corporations can not afford to cut corners. The consequences of business and customer confidentials getting into the wrong hands could prove a swift and deadly financial blow to an organization in lawsuits, lost revenue and recovery- the trade offs simply do not justify the means.
Kanguru Offers A Much More Reliable Data Loss Protection Solution
According to Gangliani, Hardware Encryption is simply the better alternative to software encryption because it leaves no possibility of leaving files unprotected by mistake. 
"An alternative to software encryption would be the use of portable storage devices with hardware encryption baked in. Many of these devices perform their data mangling transparently as information is copied onto them, often incorporating hardware for biometric or PIN-based authentication without having to use a host computer.The use of hardware encryption leaves no possibility of leaving files unprotected by mistake, or having employees skipping the software encryption process when in a hurry." 2
With AES 256-Bit Hardware Encryption secured on all Kanguru Defender devices, corporations can be assured that Kanguru Defender drives used by their employees and staff to transfer and back up information is fully secure. Kanguru has also taken great care to provide a wide range of security options to fit every budget, as well as offer highly certified devices to meet government and military specifications. If your business requires government-grade certifications such as FIPS 140-2, you need look no further than the Kanguru Defender 2000™ or Defender Elite.™ Moreover, both of these drives are in process to meet Common Criteria EAL 2+, an additional certification process that demonstrates that the development and design process used to develop the product is sound and secure.
For more modest budgets, Kanguru Defender Basic+ and the Defender HDD/SSD drives offer the same AES 256-Bit Hardware Encryption and robust security with TAA Compliance.
As part of a full data leakage protection system, companies may also want to invest in a central management system of secure drives that can track, report, manage and wipe lost or stolen drives remotely from a centralized location. Kanguru Remote Management offers several great options, whether Company Server-Based or Cloud-Based.
Whether you are a mega-corporation handling gigabytes of sensitive data among hundreds of staff, or a small business with a simple spreadsheet of customer emails and addresses, you will want to protect confidential business information using the best. Kanguru's AES 256-Bit Hardware Encrypted drives provide you with the confidence you need to run your business smoothly and securely.
Check out Kanguru Defender Secure, Hardware Encrypted Devices at kanguru.com.
1) From the article "Sony Slapped With $390,000 U.K. Data Fine", written by Gary Flood; InformationWeekSecurity; January 24, 2013
2) From the article "Minding the Little-Known Pitfalls of Data Leakage", written by Paul Mah; ZDNet; March 18, 2013