IronKey Flashdrive

Yeah, yeah... I know; me doing a serious technology piece. What's the world coming to? And, to be brutally honest, when I got the sample of this product I thought, "What? ANOTHER special jump drive?" Then I started looking at it; reading about it; studying up. The next thing I knew I was interested in this and paying attention. It's NOT just "another special jump drive". It's a serious cyber-security tool for serious professionals. Let me tell you a little bit about it and its strengths; and why it's the only jump drive I'll carry.

Let's be honest: everyone has a secret to keep. Most of us have several. Parents know all too well how many secrets their teenage children TRY to keep and I, for one, and quite thankful my kids didn't have an IronKey Flashdrive to help them out. Although it's not heavy, the IronKey is noticeably heavier than a regular jump drive. In part that's due to the metal (instead of plastic) casing. In part it's due to the fact that inside the case, surrounding the electronics, is an epoxy-based potting compaound. What's that mean? If someone actually tries to break it open to get at the electronics so as to access the data there on, the act of breaking it open will almost insure that the potting compound breaks and destroys the electronics the thief would want to access.

This IronKey Flashdrive was specifically designed to work with Windows XP and Vista. The simple act of inserting it into a USB port on a computer running either version of Windows will activate the programming and prompt you for a password. Virtually everything you do with your IronKey thereafter is password protected - and that password will be required every time you use the Flashdrive. That's definitely a good thing, but can be a hinderance. If you forget your password (as most of us do at some time or another) you'll get ten tries to find the correct one as you try to access your IronKey. After the 10th failed attempt, the IronKey "self destructs". No, it doesn't go up in flames like in the old Mission Impossible television shows, but it has firmware that immediately renders all the data useless.

One of the coolest features is that, from the IronKey, you can run:

Firefox: Firefox is one of the most popular web browsers in use today and when you use your IronKey you can surf the web - free of need from the computer you're working on beyond its Windows management and connectivity. In other words, your internet session isn't tracked on the computer. It's a secure session managed by the IronKey.

IronKey's Password Manager: The Ironkey Password Manager locally manages all your online passwords with secure one-click direct access and protection against keystroke-logging spyware and other online threats. Optional encrypted password backup is provided as an online service.

IronKey's Secure Backup client: Since there is always the possibility that you would lose your IronKey - or disable it through forgetting the password - IronKey.com offers an online solution to backing up your data. It allows you to restore your encrypted data to a new IronKey if yours is lost, stolen or self-destructs due to failed password attempts.

With regard to the encryption process, security levels, etc I don't claim to be expert. I can understand when it's more than I need which is the case with IronKey. The following is an excerpt from the IronKey published material that explains their cryptology as related to the IronKey: Your IronKey supports advanced cryptographic authentication using strong PKI key pairs generated in the IronKey Cryptochip. When you log into my.ironkey.com from your device, it uses these unique keys as your digital identity credentials. This locks down your account so that you must have both your IronKey and your password in order to gain access. In other words, no one but you can access your online IronKey account, even if someone stole your IronKey or your password. As banks and other websites begin to deploy two-factor authentication, they will allow you to use a username, password, and an IronKey or other authentication device to ensure that only you can log into your account.

A real-time anonymized data analysis is run every time you attempt to login without your IronKey. If any factor looks suspicious or corresponds with known fraud indicators, supplemental authentication, such as secret questions, may be used to further verify your identity claim.

Because your IronKey implements data encryption in the hardware Cryptochip, all data written to your drive is always encrypted. There is no way to accidentally turn it off or for malware or criminals to disable it. Also, it runs many times faster than software encryption, especially when storing large files or using the on-board portable Firefox browser.

The encryption keys used to protect your data are generated in hardware by a FIPS 140-2 compliant True Random Number Generator on the IronKey Cryptochip. This ensures maximum protection via the encryption ciphers. The keys are generated in the Cryptochip when you initialize your IronKey, and they never leave the secure hardware to be placed in flash memory or on your computer.

With so much built into a Flashdrive it's quite obvious that it would cost a little more than the plastic unsecure jump drives you can buy at any department store. Pricing for the IronKey varies according to memory capacity and is listed as follows on the IronKey website:

1 GB = $79
2 GB = $109
4 GB = $149
8 GB = $299

For personal use I would think the 2 GB option is more than sufficient, but others certainly may need more. It is certainly a unique solution to many computer related security issues that exist today and I encourage you to check it out for yourself!

Stay Safe!