Product of the Week: Kingston Technology’s Hardware-Encrypted IronKey Keypad 200 USB Drive

January 30, 2023

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Small and medium-sized businesses, and even individuals looking to protect sensitive assets, can benefit from military-grade security that can safeguard data with tamper-resistant security capabilities in a compact, rugged solution.

Designed as a plug-and-play solution with support for USB Type-A Flash storage, the XTS-AES 256-bit hardware-encrypted, OS- and device-independent IronKey Keypad 200 USB drive from Kingston Technology offers accessible and secure data protection at your fingertips. The KP200 features a built-in rechargeable battery that is capable of unlocking the drive without the need for software for ease of use across various operating systems and platforms. 

Coated in epoxy, the 80mm x 20mm x 10.5mm (with sleeve) KP200 drive provides protection again environmental debris and optimal internal component operation, in addition to a polymer layer over the keypad to prevent the transfer of fingerprints.

The IronKey Keypad 200 in Action

The multi-pin feature on the keypad allows users the option to create an Admin and a User alphanumeric PINs where the Admin role can restore User access  when the PIN is forgotten, or the device is locked after 10 failed User login attempts. Additionally, when this occurs with the Admin PIN, Brute Force password attack protection will activate and crypto-erase the drive, wiping the data and resetting the drive. Finally, the KP200 includes BadUSB protection with digitally signed firmware to prevent this growing malware attack.

The KP200 offers two options for read-only (or write-protect) modes, the global and the session-only modes. The global read-only mode can be set up by Admin and allows content to be READ-ONLY IN user mode, whereas the session-only mode allows User to access the uploaded data without the ability to make changes. Additional drive protection is supported by the read-only modes, which prevent attacks though malware and corrupt systems as well as drive sharing without modifying contents

The KP200 is compatible with USB 3.0, USB 3.1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 interfaces, supports a Type-A connector, and is available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. The solution is also compatible with Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS, Android4, and other systems that support USB mass storage devices.

Getting Started with Kingston Technology’s Keypad 200

With FIPS 140-3 Level 3 (pending) military-grade certification published by the NIST, the KP200 is lab tested and now in review for final approval. With certification, the KP200 supports security improvements such as tamper-resistance, random number generation for improved encryption key generation, and automatic shutdown for extreme thermal and voltage states.

To enhance user operation, the KP200 offers robust PIN security with the PIN length extended from 7 to 8 digits, with a maximum of 15. The drive doesn’t provide a factory present PIN, so users must create their PIN upon first use. The KP200 will also undergo regular self-testing for optimal security feature function and will shut down if problems occur.

With the purchase of the IronKey Keypad 200, users will receive a limited three-year warranty and free technical support.

Additional Resources

• Product Page: https://www.kingston.com/en/usb-flash-drives/ironkey-kp200-encrypted-usb-flash-drive
• Product Press Release: https://www.kingston.com/en/company/press/article/67330
• Product Datasheet: https://www.kingston.com/datasheets/ikkp200_us.pdf
• Product Video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/744638636?autoplay=1&mute=1