Whale aims to keep Net users afloat

Don't worry - an Israeli network security start-up says it can help, says Steve Ranger.

Whale Communications says its Air Gap technology provides completely secure transactions between corporate networks and the Internet - by keeping the two disconnected.

It mirrors the 'sneakernet' concept, whereby information is transferred between networks by a sneaker-clad operator, wandering across the office with a disk.

Air Gap forces a SCSI memory storage device to hot-foot between networks so a would-be hacker loses his connection to internal systems. Whale says the technology is fast enough for services from electronic commerce to secure file transfer.

A spokeswoman said: 'It's like an after-hours gas station, with cashier and client exchanging money and receipt via a metal drawer.'

Air Gap will be demonstrated at this month's NetSec 99 in St Louis. A price has yet to be disclosed - but one analyst said a pair of Nike Airs are likely to be cheaper than Air Gap.