Putting Security in the Palm of Your Hand

Your Palm PDA may soon have an added level of security. Hitachi and Sanyo Electric have developed a Secure Multimedia Card, a memory card that has a security function for stored data, designed for use with Palm handhelds.

The card will be unveiled at this week's TechXNY, formerly PC Expo, which will start in New York City on June 26, the companies said Monday.

The card will be displayed at Palm's booth, according to Akihiko Ooiwa, a spokesperson for Sanyo. "The security function of Multimedia Card works on Palm's PDA at this point," says Ooiwa. "But we don't know what sort of security is needed and useful when it is used for business."

Only handhelds with special software installed will be able to read the encrypted data stored on the card, enabling companies to protect their information. The prototype card was produced by Hitachi, and the two companies worked together on development of applications and project management, according to Ooiwa.

In Japan, Hitachi, Sanyo, and Fujitsu launched a music download service using the Secure Multimedia Card for cell phones last year. Hitachi and Sanyo hope that similar applications will be made available on Palm PDAs for corporate use. Those applications would target the U.S. market, but it will be left to Palm to decide whether to commercially endorse the product, according to Ooiwa.

The Secure Multimedia Card system has been developed by Hitachi, Sanyo, and other companies such as Infineon Technologies and Fujitsu under the MultiMedia Card Association, which promotes the adoption of the card as the global standard.