IronKey Adds Remote Wipe Feature for USB Drives

Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:20 AM PDT

“A new service called Silver Bullet from encrypted thumb-drive vendor IronKey will let administrators wipe out or lock the data on USB sticks in the field.
Silver Bullet is a Web-based service that will be offered as a subscription add-on to IronKey's USB device management software, said David Jevans, IronKey's CEO.
An IronKey USB (Universal Serial Bus) stick uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to securely store data, which is used by the U.S. government for sensitive material. Nonetheless, some customers have requested more features in order to destroy data, Jevans said.
The IronKey is unlocked when a user enters their password, but some users will write down their password and keep it, for example, in their briefcase along with their IronKey, Jevans said. The practice undermines the device's security, but it's an example of the risk that users pose to data security.

To counter that situation, the Silver Bullet service will let administrators send a command to the IronKey when its inserted into a PC that is connected to the Internet that tells its flash memory hardware controller to wipe the data.”

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