Embodiments of the invention provide a removable memory unit (RMU) that facilitates concatenation of said memory modules irrespective of their individual physical interfaces, enables encryption/decryption keys (including cryptographic ignition keys (CIKs)) to reside onboard the RMU, provides for physical separation of RED and BLACK data in cross-domain environments and implements zeroization functionality onboard the RMU. Further embodiments provide a swappable IO backplane and adapter plates for incorporation into a wide variety of platforms.