SanDisk on Thursday introduced what the company claims is the first secure USB flash drive for the Mac.

The Cruzer Enterprise targets IT professionals looking to protect information on company-issued USB drives for computers running Apple's Mac OS X. The drive uses hardware-based 256-bit encryption in placing access control on all files to protect against theft or loss of the drive.

"SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise is ideal for the millions of business users who use Macs at home or in the office," Yariv Fishman, senior manager for product marketing at SanDisk, said in a statement.

SanDisk said the Cruzer Enterprise can also be used on Windows PCs, making it possible to apply the same features and data security in either environment. Features include login and shutdown access to the encrypted storage area and the ability to change and manage passwords and to change contact information, language, and other preferences. In addition, users can launch online support and view current firmware and drive information.

Cruzer is available in 1-, 2-, 4-, and 8-GB configurations. The drive supports Apple computers running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). People currently using Cruzer Enterprise drives can download the Mac firmware from the SanDisk Web site.

SanDisk last month said it had developed a flash memory file system for solid-state drives that would greatly accelerate write speeds. The technology, called ExtremeFFS, is scheduled to ship in products next year.