As I was doing some research on them, I ran across a GCN article from yesterday about them, "This USB drive will self-destruct."

"IronKey Inc. this week introduced a secure USB thumb drive designed for sensitive government, military and enterprise users. The vendor’s IronKey: Enterprise Special Edition drive is available in 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB configurations and features built-in hardware encryption for security of stored data.

Accessing data on the drive requires a password that is verified by hardware, and it features a self-destruct sequence that protects data if an unauthorized user tries to unlock or tamper with the device, according to IronKey, of Los Altos, Calif.

The Enterprise Special Edition drive also performs dynamic drive mapping to work in environments with network-mapped drives and it forgoes features, including Firefox, Secure Sessions, Secure Updates and the IronKey Password Manager, found on other IronKey drives that could compromise security or violate security requirements for secure installations.

For military use, the device has been tested for and passed the MIL-STD-810F military waterproof standards. It was also designed to resist being tampered with or disassembled by hackers, the vendor said."

I really like that it is waterproof along with having a "self-destruct" function!

It is funny that the military/enterprise editions are exactly the same price as for the "regular" editions:

* 1GB: $79
* 2GB: $109
* 4GB: $149

Sounds like a good value, but I'm going to check on the other options from other vendors before making a final decision. If any of you have one of these, please let me know if you like it!

Many organizations give their employees holiday gifts, sometimes of significant values. It would be great if, instead of giving that Harry and David fruit of the month subscription or tower of chocolates that typically cost $150 - $200, organizations would give these encrypted USB drives. Give along with them a 30- to 60-minutes in-person tutorial for how to use it, to all personnel, or at least those that take personally identifiable information (PII) outside of your facilities.

Most of the folks I know love gadgets such as these...especially if they know it is "Military Grade" and also that they will self-destruct! If you have a purchasing department they might be able to negogiate a lower rate per unit for a bulk purchase. If you don't have the budget to afford to buy the USB drives, perhaps you can get significant discounts on them to give to your personnel.

Giving these types of gadgets provides a great awareness raising and training opportunity! Along with it your personnel will get something material that they can see, feel, use, and will constantly remind them of the need for information security and protecting privacy.