INTRODUCTION

   Even though data safety/security has always been of paramount importance in some areas of the industry (corporate espionage) and even the government we've never seen as many encrypted USB storage solutions available in the market as we have today. Today not only interested parties can get their hands on a large number of encrypted USB flash drives, portable hard drives and portable solid state drives featuring either software or hardware based encryption but they can also choose between several different types of user authentication such as integrated keypads, PC/MAC software and even bluetooth connectivity. IronKey was among the very first manufacturers to offer hardware based encrypted USB flash drives with an impressive array of security features (including a self-destruct defence mechanism) and today with us we have their latest and top of the line D300S 64GB USB 3.0 model.

   KingstonTechnology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China and sales representatives in the United States, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Australia, India, Taiwan, China, and Latin America.

   The IronKey D300S USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1) model which we have here with us is the serialized version of the D300 series (currently available in 8/16/32/64GB/128GB capacities and in standard, serialized and serialized managed versions) which allows network administrators both to simply read or scan the drive in order to see its unique serial number (instead of having to plug it into a computer) and enter a password via mouse clicks, instead of using a physical keyboard (keylogger protection). In terms of protections the D300S (and the entire D300 line) is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and NATO restricted level certified and features 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption in XTS mode (GDPR & NYDFS compliant), BadUSB immunity via a digitally signed firmware, custom password requirements with minimum characteristics (complex), internal epoxy coat/seal (tamper-evident/proof) and a Brute Force defence mechanism which auto-formats the drive after a total of 10 consecutive incorrect password entries. The enclosure of the entire D300 series is made out of IEC60529 IXP82 certified (waterproof up to 4 feet - 1.2 meters) zinc alloy (customizable) and is covered by a 5-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The D300S arrived inside a small gray box that has the product name at the front along with the FIPS 140-2 level 3 certification and the connectivity type.

You can find the serial number of the drive on the security sticker.

Warranty information and OS compatibility are both listed at the rear.

The drive is safely placed inside a formed piece of plastic.

Along with the D300S Kingston bundles a round metal key ring.

THE IRONKEY D300S 64GB

The IronKey D300S is a mid-size USB flash drive measuring 77.9mm in length, 22.2mm in width and 12.05mm in thickness.

Here you can see the D300S right next to the D20402 model (again by IronKey), the SECUREUSB KP by SECUREDATA and the DatAshur PRO by iStorage.

At the top right end of the drive we see the model capacity, an activity LED and a lanyard area.

The serial number of the drive along with its barcode are printed at the rear.

This is a USB 3.0 drive (USB 3.1 Gen 1) so it should be able to produce high-performance numbers.

The protective cap can be mounted at the rear of the drive while in operation (as long as you don't have the key ring mounted).

CONTROL PANEL

Once you plug the drive into your computer the initialization wizard for the control panel will auto-launch.

Setup is actually very easy so aside choosing the desired language for the software you only have to enter a password and if you'd like a password hint.

You can also enter your contact information if you want (not mandatory).

After that the drive gets formatted (FAT32 by default but you can format it again with the file system of your choice) and you can start using it.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since flash drives are basically plain storage media devices just like solid state drives and hard disk drives, we are using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record the achieved performance numbers. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read / Write speeds - some drives can't be tested for write performance), AIDA 64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear Read / Random Read speeds), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB-1000MB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro installation on a HyperX Predator 480GB PCIe SSD with all updates installed up to the date of this review. As always for comparison purposes in the charts you will also find many other flash drivers which have been tested using the same exact test bench as the one in this review (we really can't keep every flash drive we get forever and also even if we could test them all again and again would simply not be possible).

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

CONCLUSION

   My first encounter with IronKey was back in 2010 (if i recall correctly) when i got two of their D20402 models (somewhat ground-breaking for their time) to test so when Imation suddenly acquired them over a couple of years later i thought it was the beginning of the end. Luckily things were turned around when Kingston took the helm and so things have never been better for IronKey. Aside being FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified the D300 line also recently achieved the NATO restricted level certification thus placing it on the same level as other offerings by iStorage and SECUREDATA (we applied the same brute force and BadUSB ways to try and hack the drive as with previous reviews of hardware encrypted drives without luck – still do keep in mind that we're not hackers). Where the IronKey D300S really outshines the competition is performance since it’s clearly the fastest hardware-encrypted drive in our charts (and one of the fastest models overall). Unfortunately, unlike models by other manufacturers the highest available capacity for the IronKey D300 series is 128GB (two years ago this would be plenty) and that may “force” potential buyers with increased data storage needs to look elsewhere.

   With a price tag currently placed at USD213.18 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at 269Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Kingston IronKey D300S 64GB is among the most expensive hardware encrypted USB flash drives in the market today. On the other hand, we feel that both its performance numbers and the 5-year limited warranty make up for that (or at least part of that) and since it delivers on what really matters (data security) the IronKey D300S 64GB is definitely worthy of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (IPX82 Certified Zinc Alloy Enclosure)
- Security Measures (AES-XTS 256-bit Hardware Encryption/ FIPS 140-2 Level 3 / NATO restricted level certified)
- Very Good Performance
- Standard, Serialized Managed Versions Available
- Secure Customization Service
- 5 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Tops At 128GB