WiebeTech TouchTech Secure mini HDD Enclosure

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This gadget is sure to please both security nerds and ruggedized nerds. The people at WiebeTech showed off their ToughTech Secure HDD enclosure that fits a 2.5-inch hard drive. Not only is it rugged and can protect against drop damage, it also features a USB softkey and tough encryption.

The case is built out of aluminum and has anti-shock protection – which may not be the most rugged drive we’ve seen, but it should be good enough for most users. The casing itself is fanless and reportedly quiet, and it’ll feature a USB/eSATA combo port and 2 FireWire 800 ports, and even includes FireWire 400-to-800 adapters. Like most external HDD enclosures, it has its own power adapter.

On the security side, it features a 128-bit AES encryption engine that was validated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The hardware based encryption is unlocked via a included softkey that plugs in via a micro-USB port. When the softkey is in, the data is unencrypted – so your data is safe, as long as you don’t lose the drive and the USB key.

It’s compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux, and will come preloaded with some backup software. WiebeTech says they well be selling the enclosure alone, but also bundled with various sizes of 2.5-inch HDDs and SSDs. No word on pricing, but it likely won’t be cheap. No USB 3.0 either, but the inclusion of superfast eSATA should be decent enough. It’ll ship next month.