Kingston's Encrypted USB Drives Use Robust AES-XTS Encryption

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Kingston's IronKey hardware-encrypted USB and external SSD drives feature 256-bit AES encryption utilizing the XTS block cipher mode, which provides greater data protection than other AES modes like ECB and CBC. XTS uses two AES keys and a Galois polynomial function to ensure each encrypted block is unique, even for identical plaintext, eliminating vulnerabilities associated with more sophisticated attacks.

Why it matters

As data security becomes increasingly critical, the choice of encryption mode can make a significant difference in the level of protection. XTS represents the latest and most robust AES encryption standard, making Kingston's IronKey drives a top choice for users who need the ultimate in data security for their sensitive information.

The details

XTS, or XEX Tweakable Block Ciphertext Stealing, is a block cipher mode that was added to the AES specification in 2010. It uses two separate AES keys - one for the encryption and one to encrypt a 'tweak value' that is then combined with the plaintext and ciphertext using a Galois polynomial function. This provides stronger protection against side-channel attacks compared to previous modes like ECB and CBC. The result is that each encrypted block is unique, even for identical plaintext, ensuring a high level of data security.

• The XTS block cipher mode was added to the AES specification in 2010.