Promising "a new level of security for Windows phones", German firm Certgate has unveiled SD cards dubbed "Protector" that encrypt data on phones powered by the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system as well Blackberry handsets.

The company is confident about the encryption used in "Protector" as it has supposedly passed strict tests by Germany's Federal Office for Information Security, and that units are actually being piloted by the German interior ministry.



Certgate card

The "Protector" SD card has a maximum of 1GB flash memory and is slipped into devices that have SD, microSD or miniSD expansion slots.

Once inserted, data written to a Windows Mobile handset will be hardware-encrypted using a combination of RSA 2048-bit and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256-bit keys.

However, the "Protector" does not encrypt voice calls.

The "Protector" supports SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and VPN (virtual private network) connection to e-mail servers such as Microsoft's Exchange.

It also offers another layer of protection to Blackberry emails via S/MIME e-mail encryption.

Price for a "Protector" SD card is about €100 (US$125) for a lifetime license and may be lower on volume or bulk orders.

[Via PCWorld]