Ironkey Personal

The ultimate in secure data storage

The majority of normal USB memory sticks (or flash/thumb drives) are un-encrypted (that is, anyone can plug it in and read your files) or are only protected by a simple password. It is possible to encrypt memory sticks using a software based encryption system (such as PGP or Truecrypt) but this means that the encryption software needs to be installed on each machine that you wish to use (not very likely on your clients machines). Also, because this type of encryption uses PC based software, the encrypted data can be copied from the memory stick and potentially decrypted (this is extremely hard to do, but it is possible).

Ironkey has designed a military grade hardware encryption computer chip and encased it in a USB memory stick. This means that the encryption is securely handled entirely within the memory stick and does not require software to be installed on the PC. The benefit of this is you can plug the Ironkey into other computers and once the memory stick has verified your identity via your private pass phrase, you can access the files and data normally.

If you loose your Ironkey, you can be assured that your files will never be read for two main reasons:

1. It is not possible to copy the encrypted data from the Ironkey without providing the correct pass phrase (only known to you)
2. If the finder or thief attempts to guess your pass phase, the Ironkey will initiate a self-destruct sequence after 10 attempts. Firstly it will securely shred your data and then the encryption keys themselves, thus making the device completely useless and, more importantly, protecting your files for unauthorised use.

Expensive?

Of course all this comes at a price, but while this may all seem over the top for regular business, the point is that you and your clients can be assured that important or confidential data is not going to be found in the public domain if the worse happens.

The Ironkey comes in several versions and different memory sizes.  We recommend the Ironkey Personal version for small businesses which comes with the following features:

• Hardware-based encryption of up to 32GB of files on the IronKey
• Optional IronKey online services protect your web surfing with the portable Firefox web browser and Secure-Sessions service
• Store and protect your online passwords with the Identity Manager
• Top-grade flash memory chips deliver long life as well as the performance to run portable email, MP3 libraries, photo managers, and other applications

More Information?

Please contact us via our contact form or speak to Gary Howell on 01437 563650