Attendees at our June 2nd meeting saw an interesting presentation by WiebeTech, a manufacturer of storage products and computer forensic hardware. WiebeTech is based in Kansas and was founded by James and Kathy Wiebe.

That’s right, a “wiebe” is not a unit of measurement roughly equal to 10 terabytes. It does not refer to the shaft of a hard-drive spindle motor. It is the founder’s family name. Earlier this year, the Wiebes sold their company to CRU-DataPort, who continues to use WiebeTech as one of its brands.

I’ve never tried WiebeTech’s hard-drives (my G-Tech G-Drive Q and Lacie Rugged have both served me well thus far), so I won’t offer any opinion or review. Besides, it’s easy enough to find a review through Google or on Amazon. (There is nothing sweeter than typing a Google search and knowing that every result will be relevant; there is no “WiebeTech University” or “WiebeTech Consulting” or “WiebeTech dish washing detergent”. There is only the Wiebes’ WiebeTech.)

I will say this: On June 2nd, ears perked during discussion of WiebeTech’s CSI-esque forensic hardware. Here’s a press release regarding WiebeTech’s presentation at the 2008 FOSE Conference and Expo in Washington, DC, a gathering where government technology products are showcased. The release describes WiebeTech’s Drive eRazer™ as “a new economical standalone hardware solution that erases all data from a hard drive quickly and easily without using a computer.” The release also mentions the “previously classified [and] now declassified” HotPlug™, a tool for moving computers without unplugging them.

Do I fully comprehend the utility of these forensic devices? Not really. Do I personally have a need for them? Doubtful. Would I like to add them to my presently non-existent kit of computer forensic tools? I believe I would.