Secure USB Drive Review

Unsecured devices that are the size of a human thumb can store enough data to cause large-scale misery when they are inevitably misplaced because of their extreme portability. When the dark side of flash drives became apparent, companies and governments responded to the threat by supergluing USB ports shut and forbidding the use of thumb drives. The industry responded with secure drives.

Secure USB drives are the best way to stop the proliferation of data security breaches that have plagued corporations and government agencies ever since unsecured flash drives became available. Some vendors implement security by encrypting data behind passwords. Some provide security by including a biometric fingerprint scanner on the device. Some vendors manufacture both types. In our review we examine portable drive products that use passwords and encryption. We compare them side by side and rank them in order to reveal the best buys.

Secure USB Buyer’s Guide

As soon as you become accustomed to the convenience of using USB drives, the likelihood of losing one is high. If you are considering a secure USB drive, an informed overview of the basic attributes and options along with consideration of warranty and support policies will quickly narrow choices toward an informed purchasing decision.

Attributes
All of the products that we considered connect to the computer via USB 2.0 port and they all have password protection and hardware-based 256-bit AES encryption. Most, but not all, will reformat the disk after a certain number of incorrect passwords, usually ten attempts.

All of the products in our lineup support Windows, but one of them supports the 32-bit versions of Windows only. Some of the products enable password protection and encryption on Macs as well. One of them supports Macs and Linux machines in addition to Windows.

It is one thing to support hardware-based 256-bit AES encryption and another thing to have actually received validation for the implementation according to the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS). Within FIPS there are various versions and standards. For example, FIPS 140-2 Level 2 requires pick-resistant covers and a method to show evidence of tampering. At FIPS 140-2 Level 3, there is a requirement for tamper-detection circuitry that will overwrite all data if the cover is breached. Some vendors implement FIPS requirements but they don’t actually pay for an independent lab to provide validation. The only two vendors from among our pool of competitors to achieve FIPS validation are also the only ones to include antimalware protection.

Help & Support
Take into account how long the vendor will stand behind the product and how the vendor provides technical support. Warranties range from one year to limited lifetime. Technical support options are combinations of email, web form, online chat and telephone.

For more information, read articles about secure USB drives. When we apply the evaluation criteria to products, we find that the IronKey Personal D200 is best because of its extremely ruggedized and tamper-proof packaging, its FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation and inclusion of antimalware software. The Kanguru Defender Elite, however, runs a close second in terms of attributes, although, unlike the IronKey, it is for Windows only. The SanDisk Extreme Contour, for Windows only, has many advanced security features. Even though the SanDisk does not have FIPS validation, it is a bargain at half the price of the IronKey or the Kanguru. Protect yourself now from the misery of personal data leakage and buy a secure flash drive.

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