Going “globull”

Bull has developed a revolutionary mobile computing security solution for businesses worried about the security of data stored on laptops: a bootable, portable password-protected hard disk drive with an embedded cryptographic processor that protects data if the device is lost or stolen.

“ globull” is a bright red package about the size and weight of an iPod Classic. It has a color display, houses a 60G-byte hard disk drive and has a USB 2.0 cable that wraps around the device for storage.

Plug it into any PC that can boot from an external USB 2.0 drive, switch on the computer, enter your password on globull's tiny touch-sensitive display, and you have access to your regular working environment, applications and data. Switch off the computer again and you can take your data away without leaving a trace.

“ globull” is the fruit of a two-year R&D program, carried out by Bull’s team of IT security experts. Today, it is the most secure solution in the world, which lets you take your working environment with you, wherever you go, in complete security. It consists of an ‘electronic safe’, the size of a PDA (personal digital assistant), weighing in at just 120 grams, with its own hard disk and internal defense industry-standard cryptographic processor. Any data that you store on it is protected from intrusions, viruses and spyware. It also allows you to secure your own working environment and applications, and use them on any kind of workstation: whether it is a laptop, an ultra-portable notebook, a home computer.

Bull envisages a number of scenarios in which the drive could be useful to secure data: mobile workers with their own laptop; staff working on shared PCs, or for performing demonstrations on a client's computer. The company suggests installing a complete operating system — Windows or Linux — and applications on the device, but suggests that buyers ensure that their existing software licenses allow such a use.

Announced initially for the French market, an international launch of globull is planned for the second half of the year.