City Police deploy stealth storage

The Stealth MXP device is a USB drive that enables City of London Police officers to carry sensitive data securely.

The device has built in biometric reading technology and encryption systems to ensure the stored data is completely safe while being transported.

Gary Brailsford, information management services department head at the City of London Police said: “We’re looking closely at the accessibility demands of the business against the security requirements that we have to follow; that’s really been the biggest challenge for us, identifying the appropriate balance.”

Eighty of the Stealth MXP USB devices have now been deployed to officers. Before the purchase of the Stealth MXP units, the force relied on hard drive encryption to secure data.

“I’m confident in the fact that if [the employees] were to leave that device in transit, that the information is secure,” continued Mr Brailsford. “It’s not that the device is lost, but having the confidence that the information that’s on that device is now inaccessible.”

The rise in high profile cases of data loss that have been reported in the press over recent months prompted this move by the City of London Police to develop a more secure data storage and transportation regime.

The force is also using the Stealth Outbacker MXP that is an external hard drive with a higher capacity than the USB device.

“The confidence level of the officers in using these products is very high,” concluded Mr Brailsford.