DIGISTOR®, a leading provider of secure Data at Rest (DAR) storage solutions, announced that the Pre-Boot Authentication (PBA) portion of its Citadel C Series SSDs (powered by Cigent®) is listed on the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) Common Criteria Products in Evaluation List. NIAP is responsible for the US implementation of the international Common Criteria set of data security standards. The evaluation and full NIAP listing for the Cigent PBA is expected later this year. This means the Citadel C Series secure SSDs will have both NIAP-listed SSDs and PBA, making it perfect for critical infrastructure companies, industry, and military and government agencies requiring the highest data security levels.

“This listing is an affirmation that the entire Citadel C Series secure data solution will meet the international Common Criteria standards for encryption currently used by 31 countries globally,” said Randal Barber, CEO of parent company CDSG. “This initial step to Common Criteria certification for the C Series PBA assures our customers that the solutions they develop with Citadel PBAs to secure DAR in laptops, desktops, and other devices, are more readily accepted internationally and by government programs requiring CSfC and meet higher security requirements for sensitive and classified data.”

NIAP certification is a commercial cybersecurity product certification mandated by federal procurement requirements (CNSSP 11) for use in US National Security Systems, as information systems operated by the US Government, contractors for the government, or agents that contain classified information. These systems may involve intelligence activities, cryptographic activities related to national security, command and control of military forces, equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system or are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions.

The product in evaluation listing is the first step that brings the DIGISTOR Citadel C Series PBAs closer to full CC validation. Once the PBA is on the NIAP Product Compliant List, it will be eligible to be listed on the NSA CSfC Components List. The DIGISTOR SSDs used as the basis for Citadel C Series SSDs are already on both the NIAP Product Compliant List and the NSA’s CSfC Components List.

The C Series built-in PBA unlocks access to the encrypted operating system on the Citadel SSD, as well as its stored data. This secured data is encrypted by NSA-approved Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption at the hardware level. Once booted, Citadel allows no-overhead, hardware-speed access to encrypted data at the full performance of the system.

For more information, visit digistor.com.

DIGISTOR, a CRU Data Security Group (CDSG) brand, provides secure storage solutions for Data at Rest. CDSG is a leading provider of data security solutions and data transport and storage devices for government and military agencies, small and medium-sized businesses, the entertainment industry, corporate IT departments, data centers, and digital forensic investigators. Its other brands include CRU removable storage devices, ioSafe fireproof and waterproof data storage devices, and WiebeTech digital investigation devices.