There’s no excuse for storing data on any unprotected device, especially now that more of us are working between home and the office. There’s a slight speed hit with such extensive encryption compared with the fastest drives on the market, but it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

For this reason, I think that all organizations handling sensitive data should be compelled by law to store data on devices like the Kingston IronKey KP200 if the data is physically moved from a secure computer, site or server. Verdict: With the various levels of security it offers, the chances of cracking open the data stored on an IronKey KP200 are close to impossible without a PIN. These modes enable the drive’s administrator to write-protect the drive during a specific session or globally across all user sessions. The KP200 also safeguards against malware from untrusted computer systems by using two different Read-Only modes. If the Admin PIN of the KP200 is incorrectly entered ten times in a row, built-in Brute Force attack protection immediately crypto-erases the drive’s data, permanently destroying what’s on it and resetting the device. People will always forget PINs, unfortunately. This requires a suitable protocol for ensuring this is set, but a closely guarded common Admin PIN might be a solution if these drives are widely used.

The KP200 locks after ten failed attempts to enter a PIN and, if both the User and Admin PINs are enabled, the Admin PIN can be used to restore a User PIN and access the drive.

While the KP200 is unlocked with a User PIN, it also allows setting a separate Admin PIN. The Kingston IronKey Keypad 200 is available in capacities ranging from 8GB to 128GB.

Ironkey flash drive