LaCie Safe
Storing your files on this mobile hard drive gives you multiple levels of protection because it uses advanced encryption and biometric authentication technology.
The Safe uses 128-bit AES encryption (Advanced Encryption Standard) which is the same standard used by governments to protect top secret information.
Encryption converts information that is readable into a mixture of unreadable characters. Decryption processes the encrypted unreadable characters back into a readable format.
The algorithm that encrypts and decrypts the information is known as a cipher. The cipher allows access to the readable information when you enter a password.
Most ciphers will use passwords that are four to eight characters in length, but a 128-bit AES cipher uses a 16 character password which is extremely difficult to hack.
The AES cipher or "Rijndael" (pronounced Rein Dahl) is named after the Belgian inventors Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen.
Biometric authentication is a technology that recognizes physical or behavioral characteristics such as fingerprints, palm geometry, retina patterns, voice and signature. Fingerprint recognition is the most popular because it's easier to use.
Your finger is scanned for minutia, which are the points on a fingerprint where a ridge ends or splits into two. An algorithm extracts the minutia points and creates a template image that is used for authentication.
Source: lacie.com