SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today introduced a new file encryption system that provides owners of all SanDisk Cruzer® USB flash drives with advanced security measures to protect important documents. The upgrade to SanDisk’s CruzerLock™ software is now available free for downloading from the company’s website (www.sandisk.com)

The new version of CruzerLock, called CruzerLock 2, will enable users to encrypt, decrypt, compress and password-protect personal files – even entire folders – stored on Cruzer USB drives. Operating on the Windows platform with drag-and-drop functionality, the software will be available first in English, then in other languages.

“Because of the growing concerns over identity and intellectual property theft, we’ve made it a priority to enhance all SanDisk Cruzer drives in the family – not just one model -- with a more comprehensive and versatile security program,” said Eric Bone, SanDisk’s director of retail product marketing. “This new software uses an industrial-strength commercial algorithm that has 448-bit Blowfish AES encryption and password protection, which is orders of magnitude greater than our original CruzerLock.”

The new security software that SanDisk is offering to all owners of Cruzer USB Flash Drives comes from encryptX Corporation (www.encryptx.com), which was founded in 1999 by executives with a background in data security and storage, including government experience with the U.S. National Security Agency.

“After evaluating many other solutions, we are confident that we have selected the best partner to help us further differentiate our products by integrating superior security software to our already proven hardware offerings,” said Bone. “CruzerLock 2 gives the market an affordable and easy-to-use solution for protecting sensitive personal or business data on an extremely convenient, portable platform.”

David Hunter, CEO of encryptX Corporation, said, "We believe that our tamper-resistant encryption and access control solutions add significant value to the SanDisk USB Flash Drive product family. By shielding the personally-identifying or business-sensitive data most often transported on these drives, our combined technologies allow users to carry what used to fill an entire hard drive in a coat pocket, without ever having to worry that the data will end up in someone else's hands" he said.

Apart from the free version of CruzerLock 2, users can purchase optional upgrades with further enhancements.

The Basic Upgrade, currently selling for $19.99, adds the ability to encrypt documents on the hard drive of a personal computer, thus giving users protection from spy-ware programs that zero in on sensitive personal and financial information such as social security and credit card numbers. The Basic Upgrade spreads its safety net over both the Cruzer Flash Drive and the host computer.

Two other versions, Premium and Professional, provide advanced features for small businesses and larger corporations, including various permission combinations and the ability to lock protected content to a specific computer or group of PCs. Those programs are presently being offered on-line for $49.99 and $79.99, respectively, direct from encryptX.

Users can access the free and upgraded versions through SanDisk’s website, at http://www.sandisk.com

encryptX Corporation, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, is a leader in secure content management for protection against personal identity theft and corporate intellectual property leakage. encryptX uses its patent-pending technologies to find, encrypt, control and audit access and usage of sensitive data in motion and at rest.

SanDisk, the world’s largest supplier of flash memory data storage card products, designs, manufactures and markets industry-standard, solid-state data, digital imaging and audio storage products using its patented, high density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is based in Sunnyvale, CA.