Kingston Ironkey D300

Kingston sells an absolute boat-load of different USB drives as seen here, and they clearly wanted more when they acquired Ironkey in early 2016. This specific brand of encrypted USB storage is available in different capacity options ranging from 4 to 128 GB, with specific combinations coming either standard (D300), serialized (D300S), managed (D300M), or serialized + managed (D300SM).

The serialized models, including the 32 GB D300S I have here, come with a unique serial number and bar code on the device for quick and easy inventory tracking, especially useful for corporate IT departments. The managed versions support Ironkey EMS and SafeConsole software for central management of all devices, including usage across every drive registered to a company. As far as individuals go, the standard version will do just fine in that it still has the primary encryption and decryption features that are shared across the portfolio.


Kingston does operate a web shop in the USA; however, the review sample arrived from a different location. As such, we begin with the product packaging itself, which is of a good size for what is ultimately a USB thumb drive. The packaging uses a gray background with all print in black. On the front, we see the product name with the brand in large lettering, as well as salient specifications which let you know that the included drive is compliant with USB 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1) and backwards compatible with USB 2.0 controllers and ports. It is only on the back that the Kingston name and logo make a showing, and here, we also see a warranty disclaimer, along with regulatory information and an identification sticker for logistics. There is nothing else to look at on the box, with the lack of real estate available preventing more technical specifications and/or marketing features from making a showing. Instead, we get to a double flap in the center that keeps the contents inside in place.

Opening the box, we see the IronKey D300 USB drive comes well packaged in place inside a plastic clamshell that offers good protection during shipping and handling. Underneath the drive is a metal ring that comes as an accessory and is locked out of the box. This ring can be unlocked by simply turning the thicker section, which then allows the USB drive to be slipped through and carried on a key chain or similar. It is extremely durable for what it is meant to be, making it an indicator of the good build quality of the device as a whole.


As with everything else so far, the IronKey D300S USB drive is fairly understated in appearance. Featuring a thick zinc alloy case that gets a brushed, black finish and minimal printing in white, it is a drive that is at home in an office just as much as in your house. It measures in at 78 mm x 22 mm x 12 mm, and Kingston rates it IEC 60529 IPX8 waterproof (up to 4 feet submerged) with the cap closed. There is also a tamper-evident epoxy coating seal for when you need to be absolutely sure the drive has not been compromised physically. On the front is again the product name, along with the capacity of the drive near an LED activity indicator, which in turn is present next to a hook where the metal ring goes through. On the back, as with the packaging, is the Kingston logo and regulatory information. Consistency is definitely high here, if nothing else. The cap fits in snugly and securely, but note that the IPX8 rating does not mean you can take it swimming with you as there is no O-ring seal or equivalent for a higher water-resistance rating.


When a new IronKey D300 (S/M/SM) drive is first inserted into a compatible USB port on a system with a compatible OS, two drive letters will show up. The first is for the onboard driver used to set up encryption and the second for the actual drive, wherein contents are seen as with any other such device. Seen above is a GIF that goes through the IronKey Initialization Wizard, which allows for the creation of a custom password that is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified and TAA compliant owing to the specific rules required—8–16 characters long and of three unique groups. This allows for 256-bit AES encryption, which with the TAA compliance means IT departments in businesses and government agencies will be happy.


For those wondering what happens if the password is forgotten or drive stolen, the drive locks down and re-formats after 10 intrusion attempts. This is a good middle ground as it allows the owner to remember the correct password while ensuring that at least the confidential contents on the device will not be accessed by someone else. There is also a digitally signed firmware that is recognized by the system in use, which in turn helps against the BadUSB exploit many USB drives on the market currently are vulnerable to. If you are interested in reading up on BadUSB, I refer you to this link from DataLocker. As mentioned above, the D300M and D300SM drives are also compatible with DataLocker's IronKey EMS, an enterprise solution for those who want to "establish a secure storage command center for administering and policing the use" of compatible devices. The takeaway here is that these drives not only come with onboard encryption support as said support is also compliant with most industry requirements, which is what allows them to actually be used.


Given this is more a discussion of the encryption of things and not a full review, I only tested the drive in my usual work environment, but did run some synthetic benchmarks for comparisons with the other entries coming up. Kingston rates this 32 GB drive at 250 MB/s read and 40 MB/s write on USB 3.1 Gen 1, and those numbers mean little without more context on the testing methodology. For what it is worth, seen above is a representative CrystalDiskMark 5 result summary for a 1 GB dataset in x64 operation on an Intel Z390-based system with Windows 10 OS and native USB 3.1 Gen 1 support via the chipset. Writing multiple gigabytes of sequential data did show some slowdown, with the controller cache likely being the limitation here, but this is far beyond the typical use case for a portable USB drive, so I have no concerns about it.

The Kingston Ironkey D300 series costs between $60–$300 depending on the options noted previously, with this specific 32 GB D300S coming in at $169 from the Kingston store and official resellers alike.