Review Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD Review: Slow Security on the Go

[Admin]

We put the Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 external SSD through a full gamut of testing to see how it stacks up.

Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD Review: Slow Security on the Go : Read more

 

[KE=MV2]

I own and use an IronKey which I bought long before the company was sold to Kingston. It uses SLC, has a metal epoxy filled enclosure so there can be no direct chip access and makes it very durable from shocks, a built in password manager, and it (had) the ability to back up your passwords to a cloud "vault".
The people who buy these devices need to handle highly sensitive information, and manage a large number of credentials. I have 200+ I manage with mine. The transfer speeds and IO tests are completely irrelevant for this application. This should be a security focused review. The cost is what one would expect for hardened device. Unfortunately, the IronKey has gone downhill after the sale, which is why I haven't bought another. The Identity Manager function which you could use for password management has been removed, likewise the backup. As shown in the review, there is direct access to the internals.
Hopefully someone from Kingston will read this, and think about the actual purpose of the product. I would like to see an Identity Manager function added back in. I would like to have them partner with a true zero-knowledge provider (hint, hint, SpiderOak) so you can (truly) securely back up Identity Manager to a cloud in case the device is lost or damaged. That doesn't need to be "free", it can require a SpiderOak account. Until then, this product no longer offers what I need.