Secure Flash drive manufacturer IronKey has unveiled a fully encrypted 8GB USB device. The rugged, waterproof and tamper resistant USB drive promises the "ultimate in security", and includes always-on hardware encryption, strong authentication, portable applications and fast memory.

The 8GB model is the latest in the IronKey product line, which is encrypted with high-speed military-grade hardware encryption.

Unlike software-based encryption, always-on protection cannot be disabled and is protected against cold-boot and brute force attacks.

If a thief tries to break-in to an IronKey and exceeds a policy-determined number of failed log-in attempts, the IronKey Cryptochip locks out the encryption functions and erases all the encrypted data with its proprietary Flash Trash technology.

IronKey devices offer a suite of applications and services, including portable Firefox, IronKey Password Manager, RSA SecurID and a Secure Sessions service. The 8GB version costs $299.