To encrypt its data, the pen uses an algorithm called Rijndael, which the National Institute for Standards and Technology is planning to use as theAdvancedEncryptionStandard, which will replace the existing Data EncryptionStandard (DES), which is currently being phased out of use.
Hitachi's version "scrambles data using a password-generated key" as the data is written, and then descrambled with the key as it is retrieved using the highly-touted AdvancedEncryptionStandard (AES) algorithm.
The new standard has everything that WPA has plus the ability to use a new encryption method dubbed AdvancedEncryptionStandard, considered strong enough for use by federal government agencies.