The 8GB Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS is a hardware-encrypted USB thumbdrive designed for military, government, and enterprise applications. Built to the highest standards, this USB drive offers a durable alloy case and fully waterproof construction. In this review we put this Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 to the test and see how well it holds up in terms of durability and performance.
The 8GB Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS is a hardware-encrypted USB thumbdrive designed for military, government, and enterprise applications. Built to the highest standards, this USB drive offers a durable alloy case and fully waterproof construction. In this review we put this Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 to the test and see how well it holds up in terms of durability and performance.
8GB Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS Specifications:
- FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated
- Enhanced protection of information assets with hardware-based data encryption
- Smart card-based authentication for secure and authorized access
- Rapid deployment with no software or driver installation
- 30MB/s Read and 22MB/s Write
- Exceeds military waterproof standards
- Inter-operability between Windows® and Mac OS® X operating systems
- Assembled in USA
Build and Design
At first glance the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 looks like any other USB flash drive; albeit slightly bloated. It has a rounded exterior shape with a very high-quality painted finish. The drive also has a lanyard hole to make attaching it to a keychain or other fastener very easy.
Build quality is for lack of a better word… perfect. I have never held a better constructed thumbdrive in my life. The weight alone is roughly the same as three or four normal flash drives. The metal body feels super durable and if I wasn’t worried about scratching the paint I can almost say for certain that it would survive being thrown full speed into a brick wall.
The body, besides being strong, is entirely waterproof with the insides sealed with military-spec epoxy. The only thing that could make this drive any more durable in my opinion is a threaded cap, instead of the current rubber-lined friction style that it has.
Security Features
We feel the best way to explain the security features on the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS is to directly quote the security section from the Lexar website.
“The Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS keeps data secure today—and tomorrow. This device features the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit technology and utilizes an onboard hardware cryptographic controller to encrypt and decrypt data. The hardware-based encryption is performed on the fly with no negative impact to the drive performance. The controller also uses an isolated memory space within itself, which eliminates the risk of access by unauthorized processes external to the flash drive.
The Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS utilizes a smart card—the standard in today’s financial and mobile industries—to provide tamper-resistant storage, isolation of all security-critical computations, and strong authentication through a stringent PKI-based challenge-response process. The smart card securely generates and stores the cryptographic key used to encrypt and decrypt data. Its mandatory password authentication process blocks access to the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 after a set number of password attempts is exceeded, which forms a key part of the defense against brute-force password guessing attacks.
Furthermore, the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS protects data from physical threats as well, as the outer casing is designed with composite metal for protection against damage. Next, internal components are sealed with a military-grade epoxy compound for protection against tampering and water damage, meeting the FIPS 140-2 Level 3 physical security standards and exceeding military waterproof standards (MIL-STD-810F).”
In our testing the security software was seamless to the end-user and one of the better methods we have used. When you first plug in the flash drive you are presented with a small 30MB unencrypted drive with software needed to unlock the drive. It includes both PC and Mac versions to be compatible with the majority of systems out there. You simply double click the program—in our case JumpDriveS3000_PC—which loads a barebones application to enter your unique passphrase. If the passphrase is valid it unlocks the drive and the primary 8GB drive appears. At any time you can unplug the drive to lock or it right-click the application on the taskbar to lock it without disconnecting the drive. It also offers a settings menu to rename the drive and change the password.
Performance
The Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 is designed to be very secure and still have good performance. Lexar lists a read speed of 30MB/s and write speed of 22MB/s. In our tests we came very close to those speeds but came up slightly short on write speed. We measured a 2MB sequential read speed of 29MB/s and a write speed of 18MB/s.
Random 2MB read and write speeds didn’t drift much from our sequential test. Read speed stayed at 29MB/s and write speed dropped to 15MB/s.
Random 4K performance was exceptional on the SAFE S3000 with the highest write speed and lowest latency out of the group.
We also ran CrystalDiskMark on each of the drives using a 500MB test size.
Conclusion
If you are in need of one of the strongest and most durable USB thumbdrives the market has to offer, the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS is a great option. While it is priced well above most “consumer” models with an online price of about $170 for the 8GB model, it will easily outlast other drives on the market and keep your data safe.
The hardware-level encryption appears to have zero downsides with a small-footprint decoding application and maintaining very fast transfer speeds. The only downside besides price that I can come up with is its hefty weight; but even then I kind of like it.
Pros
- Excellent build and construction
- Good performance metrics
- AES 256-bit encryption
Cons
- Durable case design means the drive is bit heavy
Bottom Line
If you need a thumbdrive that can survive a car running over it, a foreign government getting its hands on it, or it accidentally being put through the wash look no further than the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS.
