It seems like the benefits are having the device lock/wipe itself after a set amount of attempts in case of a brute force attack and not having to run software to decrypt the drive on the device you plug it into.

I included a picture of the IronKey Keypad 200 but that’s just because it’s the first result that came up when I was looking for an example. There seem to be a few other manufacturers and models out there and they probably have different features.

I am curious what do you think of them? Do you think they are useful? Do you find it more a novelty?


It was an ExplainingComputers video titled Very Useful Small Computing Things that made me think of them.

  • YeetPics@mander.xyz
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    9 months ago

    These are handy if you have to move sensitive information but I’ve experienced more than one event at work where irreplaceable files were lost due to user error on these type of drives.

    I couldn’t tell you about the lifespan of these devices either, something tells me the keys won’t last more than a few years if it’s being used regularly.

    • kevincox@lemmy.ml
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      9 months ago

      If your only copy of critical data is on a portable storage device you are doing so many things wrong.

      • YeetPics@mander.xyz
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        9 months ago

        Agreed.

        Have to stay within hipaa, sadly that means tech-illiterate c suite dipshits make decisions on hardware.