Encrypted or locked-down USB storage devices do not have mainstream appeal yet, but industry experts say increased regulations are driving the uptake of such devices.
Graham Titterington, principal analyst at Ovum, told ZDNet Asia that the use of secure flash drives is mandated in environments such as the military. Outside of such controlled environments, they are "quite widely used as a good practice", he said in an e-mail.
Other sectors in which secure thumbdrives are often mandatory, are healthcare and the financial services.
Joel Camissar, product line executive for McAfee's data protection business in the Asia-Pacific region, noted strong growth in the Asian and global financial services and government markets for its encrypted USB drive. This has been spurred in many cases by the need to fulfill regulatory obligations.
For instance, revised guidelines by Singapore's banking regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, require confidential customer data stored in all types of endpoint devices to be protected with strong encryption, he said. As a result, banks in the country have stepped up the use of secure flash drives.
"These devices have become increasingly popular due to increased regulations, stories in the media about information loss, and organizations adopting more stringent practices in how they protect their customers' information," he added. "Recent data indicates the market for secure USB drives was worth over US$150 million globally in 2009.
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