Not All SD Cards Are Created Equal
Jun 6, 2018
Article
How can embedded system manufacturers make sure their users don't use unsupported or counterfeit SD cards? It's a challenge when the cards look legit and plug-in.
You Just Bricked Hundreds of Devices. Now What?
Dec 20, 2017
Article
An over-the-air (OTA) update just bricked hundreds of remote devices. Now what? This blog looks at various Plan B options to consider before the unthinkable happens.
RUGGEDrive Torture Test Video
Dec 21, 2016
Article
Who doesn’t love a good product torture test video? Watch what happens when a 120,000-pound tank runs over a USB flash drive, an SD card and a Datakey RUGGEDrive memory token.
Thwarting Elbonians with Proprietary Memory Devices
Jul 7, 2016
Article
Elbonians demonstrate the effectiveness and benefit of using a memory device (with SD card or USB flash drive functionality) with a non-standard/proprietary form factor.
World's Toughest SD Card
Apr 13, 2016
Article
Are there SD cards that are physically more robust than others, when they all use the same form factor? The video in this blog post shows destructive testing of SD cards, in the search for the world’s toughest SD card.
Portable Memory in IoT Applications
Feb 4, 2016
Article
Removable memory can be used with IoT or cloud-connected devices to provide ID or location information. It can also provide a local backup for devices' settings or programming.
Design Consideration: Cycle Life of Connectors
Jul 21, 2015
Article
A while ago, I experienced firsthand the importance of connector cycle life. I made a late-night run into a local supermarket to print some photos for a family event that was taking place the next day. I loaded the photos onto a USB flash drive, but when I plugged the drive into the self-service photo kiosk, something felt wrong.
A 30-Year Run for the Parallel Key Line
Dec 4, 2014
Article
Think back to 1984. Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States. The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale. Michael Jackson’s album Thriller sells over 37 million copies, and the Soviet Union boycotts the summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. This is also the year that Datakey introduced the parallel key family.
Security Risks of USB Ports on Embedded Devices
Aug 19, 2014
Article
A recent BBC article explained how USB devices can be used for malicious purposes without the user opening an infected file on a USB flash drive, for example. In fact, the USB device doesn’t have to be a USB flash drive at all. It could be a smart phone or even a USB light or fan. The article and associated videos explain how the USB device can spoof being a network card and steal username and password data when it unknowingly takes a user to a legitimate looking site that is set up to harvest this data.