Storing the troves of data generated up in the cloud is an easy, flexible and pretty affordable way to avoid losing important or sentimental files when a smartphone is lost or a hard drive goes belly up. But while it’s easy, privacy has never been the cloud’s strong suit because, for the most part, anyone determined enough can see everything uploaded.
SMid Cloud Security believes everyone — not just large companies — should be able to enjoy completely secure cloud privacy. To do that, it’s created the SMiD Pro, a device that completely encrypts all data destined to the cloud with a plug-and-play, thin USB device that serves as a personal authentication key — all without storing any of the files locally to ensure they stay safe. SMiD Pro works with all major cloud services like DropBox, Google Drive and Amazon Web Services. without needing any software to be instlalled. Each SMiD system goes for about $400 and is expected by September 2016. Its campaign is aiming to raise about $22,700 by March 12th, 2016.
The SMiD Pro and REDS.box have similar aims, but the latter is completely proprietary while the former works with already popular services, making it a clear standout in the cloud security space. Even if it is a tad pricey, the SMiD is simple to use, an invaluable trait in what could’ve been a far more confusing product.