Hands on: Lexar total security thumbdrive

Lexar's JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS keeps your data safe in case of theft or loss.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Thumbdrives offer arguably one of the most convenient ways to carry data around. However, because they are so small, they have been frequent culprits of data breaches. Enter the JumpDrive from Lexar.

The company announced Thursday its new JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS, which it claims is the world's first smart-card-based FITS 140-2 Level 3 validated flash drive.

Lengthy name aside, this is the most secure and easy-to-use thumbdrive I've ever gotten my hands on.

(FIPS 140-2, by the way, stands for Federal Information Processing Standard and is a U.S. government computer security standard used to accredit cryptographic modules. Level 3 of this standard is the second highest level of data security, which prevents the intruder from gaining access and requires a physical security mechanism to protect the data inside.)

Physically, the new JumpDrive looks very much like most standard thumbdrives on the market with a detachable lid that reveals the USB head. However, it is noticeably heavier due to its thick metal housing and a presumably sophisticated mix of high-security components inside. Its lid also has a thick layer of rubber insulation to keep the moisture out. According to Lexar, the drive exceeds military waterproof standards.

Lexar said the JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS is certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and features hardware encryption and is the first of its kind to have atemper-resistant smart card to manage all security critical computations. The drive uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit technology and utilizes an onboard hardware cryptographic controller to encrypt and decrypt data.

From the user's perspective, however, the drive is almost as easy to use as any thumbdrive. I tried it with a few computers and it worked very well.

The drive comes with two separate partitions. One is a fixed 30MB read-only partition that contains the security software. The second is the rest of the drive's capacity to store data.

The first time you insert the drive into a computer, be it a PC or a Mac, its self-contained security software will prompt you to pick a password and a security question for retrieving password when it's forgotten. Once a password is chosen, you'll need to run the software again each time you connect the drive to a computer, then enter the password to gain access to the drive's data partition. After that, the drive works just like any other thumbdrive.

While thumbdrives with similar security measures have been available for a while, the JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS is the first that will automatically block access if wrong passwords have been entered multiple times. After that, if you don't remember the answer to the security question, you can choose to reset the password but all the data contained on the device will be erased. While this is overkill in most cases, it's a great solution for environments where data security is of the utmost importance.

Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS--photos

Other than the security features, the new JumpDrive supports USB 2.0 and worked very fast in my trials--it finished 2GB of mixed data in less then 90 seconds, faster than most regular USB 2.0 thumbdrives I've used.

After having used it for a while, I found just two catches. The first is you will need to run the security software each time you insert the drive into a computer, which takes a little time before you can access the data. The second catch, the price, is much bigger.

The new JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS is available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB models that cost $80, $100, $180, and $300, respectively. These are about 10 times the price of regular thumbdrives with the same capacities.

Obviously, the JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS is only suitable for enterprise or military environments where data security is crucial. And yes, the JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS will definitely give you a sense of total security.

For a regular consumer like me, however, the security feature of the drive is redundant since when I have to pay that much for something, I will do whatever I can to make sure I won't lose it.

[MadLyb]

"While thumbdrives with similar security measures have been available for a while, the JumpDrive Safe S3000 FIPS is the first that will automatically block access if wrong passwords have been entered multiple times"

Uhhh...Ironkey has done this from it's initial offering...in 2007.

Also, Ironkey is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified as well as 186-2 and 197. It has the same capacities and pricing and...oh yeah...has been doing this for years.

Don't get me wrong, I am tickled there is finally some competition in this area because capacity has lagged and prices are stratospheric, but it helps if you research the competition instead if just regurgitating the marketing materials.

[Vegaman_Dan]

You could also use Bitlocker to Go with Win7 that lets you do this to any USB thumbdrive and won't bug you each time you plug the drive in.

This won't help Mac users, but it's an option for Windows users.

[dupublic]

If anybody is interested you can find 16GB Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 model for less than $30 at a couple of places online. Here is how it compares with the FIPS version http://lexar.com/enterprise/compareS3000.html

Pros: same hardware encryption, but higher capacity. Cons, slower write speed, not as waterproof/shockproof, and not FIPS certified.

Good enough for me. I ordered a few at eCost.com for about $30 shipped. Amazon and its resellers sell same model for $230. I know the price sound too good to be true and I know eCost has very low resellerrating. But they are BBB member, and they been around a while. Besides, i can always do a charge back if they don't deliver.

I'll keep you posted. And let me know if anybody else bites the bullet.

[Meechman1276]

Dup, you play it safe with the Lexar JumpDrive but then take a chance with an order from eCost. There's stories out there of eCost blocking charge backs. eCost is risky - if you have problem and you are completely out of luck.
Hope it works out for you.

[dupublic]

OK, eCost.com sucks and i now know this first-hand. Just got an email from eCost. "We have encountered a problem in processing your order ****. This issue has made it necessary to CANCEL the item(s) listed below." No other reason given. How lame is that?

Well, the price did look too good to be true. A valuable lesson learned. eCost.com is not to be trusted. Their false advertising still stands. The still show the item at the same low price and listed as "In Stock". Apparently, it's just that they are not willing to sell ;) Well, at least i didn't get charged.

[kdogger1]

Win7 bitlocker is pretty weak:
- sw encryption
- vulnerable to brute force attacks
- limited to win7 enterprise (read only on win7 pro, xp, vista)
- drive is no longer portable
- portable apps can't run on read only media (generally)
- no support for mac/linux
- no physical security
- weak key storage

If I had confidential data on a drive protected with bitlocker-to-go and lost the drive, I would be pretty worried!

[PiRh0]

Hey Dong,
can you give this away as a crave givaway? if so, then pick me. I can't afford the high price but I wouldn't mind having a secure jumpdrive!

[Catdogtree]

Dude - your article is factually incorrect in multiple places. the IronKey has all these features and has done for years. Lots of times you state 'first' when actually it isn't.
Are lexar paying you?
The IronKey is same price I think, yet software and device is in later proven generation.

[bluemist9999]

You can also use TrueCrypt (free open source software) with any typical USB key to get software encryption. This will work on Windows (XP and above), Mac as well as on Linux, and costs nothing.

Granted, it doesn't have the high level of hardware security mentioned here, but for most purposes, it's far better than no encryption.

See http://www.truecrypt.org/ for more info

[WraithTDK]

Dude, you keep talking about this like it's some brand-new revolutionary concept. Despite what your article says, this is not the first drive to do ANY of this stuff. Iron Key ring any bells? Been around for a few years now? I mean, you write about this stuff for a living, don't you? How do you not know this?