Computer Crime Center Unveils New Method of Handling Large Volumes of Digital Evidence with Hitachi Data Systems.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Enabled by Hitachi Data Systems' Consolidated, High-Performance Storage and Simplified Data Management, Law Enforcement Agencies Step Up Efforts to Capture Cyber Criminals

Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), today announced that the South Carolina Computer Crime Center, a cooperative effort between the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the United States Secret Service and the FBI, has chosen a NAS solution based on the Hitachi Thunder 9570V(TM) high-end modular storage system and an HDS-NetApp(R) Enterprise NAS Gateway, to consolidate and improve access to digital evidence.

The South Carolina Computer Crime Center, which opened in December 2002, handles the forensic examination of evidence collected during the investigation of computer crimes in South Carolina. Soon after it opened, the facility was faced with a rapidly growing volume of digital evidence and needed a highly scalable storage solution that would leverage the Center's existing infrastructure.

"Our evidence repository has been growing dramatically and we were forced to continuously purchase hard drives to store extremely large image files," said Walker Johnson, information resource consultant, South Carolina Computer Crime Center. "We were using 176 IDE hard drives to meet our storage needs, and needed to simplify the management of our data. Many of them were 80 gigabyte Western Digital drives that were resident in IDE drive trays. Thunder 9570V makes a huge difference because it provides the performance we require and the scalability to keep up with our expanding data needs."

Using Thunder 9570V storage system, the Crime Center brings together investigators and forensics experts to effectively solve computer crimes. From the Center's single location, investigators recover and analyze evidence in high technology crimes related to credit card fraud, pornography, and security breaches within corporations. This solution also enables investigators to perform deep searches to recover e-mail and deleted file evidence.

"The South Carolina Computer Crime Center is the focal point in our state for a number of local, state and federal computer crime taskforce efforts," said Lt. Chip Johnson, supervisory special agent, South Carolina Computer Crime Center. "Hitachi Data Systems' storage solution allows investigators to work on multiple cases at once and to more quickly access forensic images of evidence. The increase in productivity allows investigators to rapidly solve computer crimes and ensure criminals are where they belong -- behind bars."

Since the fault tolerant, high-speed Hitachi Data Systems storage solution was installed, the time required to electronically search an imaged hard drive was rapidly lowered from up to 24 hours to 1-2 hours. IT managers and system administrators at the South Carolina Computer Crime Center also benefit from the business continuity features of the HDS-NetApp Enterprise NAS Gateway model GF940. Furthermore, NetApp SnapRestore(R) software allows virtually instant single-command data restoration while Hitachi Resource Manager(TM) enables administrators to manage the Thunder 9570V system.

With the help of Hitachi Data Systems and Data Network Solutions, the Center quickly transitioned its storage requirements to a single Thunder 9570V storage system. As the result of this deployment, SLED not only enjoys dramatic performance benefits, but also a greatly reduced total cost of ownership allowing them to share their investment in SAN infrastructure with NAS data.

"The South Carolina Computer Crime Center's problems with decentralized data demonstrate the need for highly-scalable, consolidated storage when dealing with the demanding environment of working with rich media in real time," said Ken Beaudry, senior vice president and general manager, Global Solution Services, Hitachi Data Systems. "Many of our customers need to consolidate massive amounts of data already stored on disparate systems. The Thunder 9500(TM) V Series and SLED are a perfect example of how organizations can consolidate data to simplify and accelerate sorting, accessing and managing information while decreasing overall costs."

The Thunder 9570V storage system was sold through Hitachi Data Systems' channel partner, Data Network Solutions. "With more than 35 years' experience in the Information Technology field, we are uniquely qualified to address the needs of our customers," said Fred Reavis, president, Data Network Solutions. "After analyzing the Center's storage demands, we felt that the best solution to fulfill their storage requirements was the Hitachi Thunder 9570V due to the system's efficiency, scalability and history of continually delivering performance for demanding applications, while also providing the intelligence for simplified management."

About Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.

With 2,800 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2003 (ended March 31, 2004) consolidated sales totaled 8,632.4 billion yen ($81.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hitachi.com.

About South Carolina Computer Crime Center

The South Carolina Computer Crime Center is the focal point in the state for a number of local, state and federal computer crime taskforce efforts. As we grow, we will include contact information for the many new local police department computer crime units that are now being formed.

About Data Network Solutions

Data Network Solutions, based in Columbia, South Carolina, is a full-service network systems integration firm holding strategic alliances with a number of leading technology partners. In addition to offering consulting, design, and implementation services, DNS delivers complete solutions that include support and certification training.

HiCommand is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. Application Optimized Storage, Lightning 9900 and Thunder 9500 are trademarks of Hitachi Data Systems. All other product and company names are, or may be, trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

(C) Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd.