IronKey is the brand name of a family of encrypted USB portable storage devices owned by Kingston Digital, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc.

IronKey S250 8GB encrypted USB flash drive

History

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From 2005 to 2012, IronKey was an Internet security and privacy company based in California. IronKey's founding was partially funded by the U.S. federal government, with a grant of US$1.4 million through the Homeland Security Research Projects Agency.[1][2][3] Their products have been used by the U.S. government in various areas.[4][5]

Imation acquired IronKey in September 2011.[6] In October 2012, IronKey rebranded itself as Marble Security, and the IronKey brand became wholly owned by Imation.[7][8] As part of Imation, the IronKey portfolio includes products and intellectual property from the former IronKey, as well as technologies from Imation acquisitions of MXI Security and ENCRYPTX.[9][10]

On February 8, 2016, Kingston Technology Company, Inc., announced it had acquired the USB technology and assets of IronKey from Imation.[11]

On February 8, 2016, DataLocker Inc. announced it had acquired Ironkey's Enterprise Management Service (EMS) and other assets from Imation. [12]

In November 2018, Kingston announced that the IronKey had new features and was now FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified.[13]

In early 2021, a reported 7,000 Bitcoin were stranded in a IronKey flash drive due to a forgotten password. The owner, Programmer Stefan Thomas, did not utilize the Enterprise Management Service for password recovery. [14] In 2023, a company named Unciphered found a way to unlock IronKey USB sticks similar to the one Thomas used.[15]

Windows To Go portable workspaces

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Among Imation’s IronKey products are flash drives certified by Microsoft for Windows To Go.[16] Windows To Go is an enterprise feature of Windows 8 that enables the creation of a workspace that can be booted from a USB-connected external drive on PCs that meet Microsoft certification requirements, regardless of the operating system running on the PC. A Windows To Go product, the IronKey Workspace W300, received the Editors’ Choice accolade from PC Magazine in February 2013.[17]

Products

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Secure Portable Storage

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  • IronKey Enterprise S250 and D250 USB flash drives
  • IronKey F200 Biometric Flash Drive
  • IronKey Basic S250 and D250 USB flash drives
  • IronKey F150 Flash Drive
  • IronKey Personal S250 and D250 USB flash drives
  • IronKey H100 External USB Hard Drive
  • IronKey H200 Biometric External USB Hard Drive
  • IronKey F100 Flash Drive
  • IronKey D80 Flash Drive
  • IronKey H80 External USB Hard Drive
  • IronKey D300S USB Flash Drive
  • IronKey D300SM USB Flash Drive
  • IronKey S1000 Encrypted USB Flash Drive

IronKey Secure Workspaces

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Windows 8:

  • IronKey Workspace W700 Windows To Go (Microsoft certified, FIPS Certified)[18]
  • IronKey Workspace W500 Windows To Go (Microsoft certified)[19]
  • IronKey Workspace W300 Windows To Go (Microsoft certified)

Windows 7:

  • IronKey Workspace MWES USB Flash Drive with Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard (MWES) edition software.

References

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  1. ^ "SOMETHING VENTURED: Uncle Sam Is Staking Start-Ups" (PDF). VentureWire. March 12, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  2. ^ "10 Hot Security Startups". DarkReading. April 12, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  3. ^ "Command, Control and Interoperability Programs and Projects". Department of Homeland Security. April 2, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  4. ^ "U.S. Department of Homeland Security - 2010 Budget in Brief" (PDF). Department of Homeland Security. 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  5. ^ "Department Responsibilities: Maximize Use of Science, Technology and Innovation". Department of Homeland Security. July 22, 2009. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  6. ^ "Imation Acquires IronKey's USB-Based Hardware Security Business". eWeek. Retrieved Sep 20, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Marble Cloud Launches Mobile Security Service for iPhone, Android". eWeek. 16 October 2012. Retrieved Oct 16, 2012.
  8. ^ "Imation to Unify Mobile Security Portfolio around IronKey Brand". Imation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved Oct 15, 2012.
  9. ^ "Imation acquires MXI Security, broadens product line". IT World Canada. 10 June 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  10. ^ "Imation Acquires Encryption And Security Solutions Company ENCRYPTX". TechCrunch. 3 March 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  11. ^ Mearian, Lucas (2016-02-08). "Kingston buys encrypted flash drive maker IronKey". Computerworld. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  12. ^ Inc, DataLocker (2016-02-08). datalocker.com%5daLocker-Acquires-IronKey-Enterprise-Management-Services-EMS-and-Other-Assets-From-Imation.html "DataLocker Acquires IronKey Enterprise Management Services (EMS) and Other Assets From Imation". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2021-07-30. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help); Check |url= value (help)
  13. ^ "Kingston IronKey D300 encrypted USB drive". Geeky Gadgets. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  14. ^ January 2021, Joel Khalili 19 (2021-01-19). "IronKey maker couldn't liberate this locked $260m Bitcoin wallet, even if it wanted to". TechRadar. Retrieved 2021-07-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Greenberg, Andy. "They Cracked the Code to a Locked USB Drive Worth $235 Million in Bitcoin. Then It Got Weird". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  16. ^ "Microsoft Windows To Go Homepage". Microsoft.
  17. ^ "IronKey Workspace W300 (64GB)". PC Magazine. Retrieved Feb 26, 2013.
  18. ^ FIPS 140-2 Non-Proprietary Security Policy
  19. ^ "Explore Windows 10 OS, Computers, Apps, & More - Microsoft". www.microsoft.com.
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