Phison and Cigent Deliver Advanced Cybersecurity Protection in Storage Controllers and Firmware

San Jose, Calif., June 27, 2022 – Phison Electronics Corp. (TPEX:8299), a global leader in NAND flash and storage solutions, and Cigent® Technology, Inc., the leader in embedded cybersecurity technology, today announced an innovative partnership program called Cigent Secure SSD™ Ready.  This strategic partnership embeds select Phison storage devices and controllers with Cigent’s built-in cybersecurity enhancements – features that Phison’s storage partners can easily switch on and resell as an option to their global channel partners and customers.

“We couldn’t be more excited about our exclusive partnership with Cigent to equip selected Phison products with the most secure storage solution on the market,” said Sebastien Jean, CTO, Phison. “Phison OEM partners and PC OEMs now have a turnkey solution that provides unparalleled storage-based data security across the entire storage ecosystem/PC supply chain.”

Existing software-based security solutions are ineffective at protecting data on endpoints or removable media.  Sophisticated adversaries often launch enterprise-wide attacks at a single endpoint, bypassing or disabling software-based protections.  A Ponemon Institute study found that 68 percent of organizations have experienced an endpoint attack that successfully compromised data or IT infrastructure.  The same report found endpoint-initiated attacks increased nearly 70 percent year over year.

“Our alliance with Phison makes it easy for Phison’s storage partners to deliver next-gen data security to customers that require enhanced endpoint data protection in order to defend sensitive information from today’s increasingly sophisticated threats,” said John Benkert, CEO of Cigent Technology, Inc.

Phison and Cigent have closely collaborated to embed security protections directly into the storage device, guarding against all known attacks.  Critical features of the Cigent Secure SSD Ready firmware include:

• • • Rendering secured portions of a drive unreadable and therefore invisible at the sector level.
    • Keys derived from user-supplied credentials use the maximum length allowed and are never stored in their final form.
    • Keep-Alive heartbeat detects if security software is disabled and automatically hides data.
    • Secure data access logs are stored in firmware and cannot be altered or wiped.
    • True Erase™ data destruction verification ensures complete data erasure.
    • Dual-Mode delivers two distinct drives on a single SSD with the ability for independent operating systems entirely invisible to each other at the BIOS level – thus creating a secret and secure drive that adversaries cannot access or even know to exist.
    • Cigent’s cloud-based management console enables enterprise-wide data security, zero-trust data security controls, and integration with existing security solutions.

“Kanguru is a leading supplier of secure storage solutions.  We are excited to leverage the Cigent Secure SSD Ready program to enable our customers to leverage the combined protection of the Kanguru and Cigent technology suites to protect their data from all attacks,” said Nate Cote, EVP, Kanguru.