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amazon iStorage DiskAshur Pro2 SSD reviews
If data security is important to you, the iStorage DiskAshur Pro2 SSD offers everything from hardware encryption to a PIN keyboard. It’s expensive and not as fast as an SSD, but it can be the ultimate secure storage.
The iStorage DiskAshur Pro2 SSD ($479 for the 1TB version we tested) is a worthy solid-state successor to the company’s line of secure, disk-based external drives. It’s a sleek, refined drive with a solid build, but what sets it apart is its combination of real-time 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption, IP56 certification, and FIPS. 140-2 Level 2, a tamper-proof enclosure and built-in PIN authentication. The drive isn’t cheap and isn’t as fast as an SSD, but your data could also be locked at Fort Knox without a PIN — put, it won’t be accessible to the bad guys.
What’s in the box?
We’ll get into the details of Pro2’s performance in a minute, but we’ve revealed the part that doesn’t come cheap — at around 47.9 cents per gigabyte, the DiskAshur Pro2 drives run almost twice as fast as SSDs external 1TB.
The box contains only the exFAT formatted drive (in a very nice zippered carrying case) and some setup instructions. The USB 3.1 Type-A cable can’t be lost (no USB-C here, unless you provide your security key); since it’s part of the drive, that’s good news. The bad news is that the cable is extremely short – not an issue with most desktop/laptop setups, but it can be an issue when using the drive with a TV or PC tower that only has ports at the backside.
First, it’s very attractive and pretty well made. As a way of protecting your drive against the elements (the DiskAshur Pro2 SSD is IP56 rated, so it’s already dust and water-resistant), it’s hard to beat. Second, you may need a case, as this drive is larger than any SSD you may have used before. It measures slightly bulky 0.59 x 3.2 x 4.7 inches and weighs half a pound. That is not something you put in your pocket when taking photos at the park. It’s big and heavy, and the carrying case with the attached lanyard is a welcome addition.
Setup: Put a PIN on it
As we mentioned, there’s no setup in terms of software — no drivers and no built-in apps. Without the complications involved in security, using the Pro2 would be a simple plug-and-play experience, like most external drives. However, DiskAshur is not like most other drives. First, you must use a PIN between seven and 15 characters long to access the device; The drive can be programmed to allow full or read-only access depending on the PIN. Furthermore, there is an administrative PIN and one or more user PINs, the former (unsurprisingly) allowing more control over the drive and its users. (Also, no user PIN has been set yet, and the administrative PIN is 11223344; change it as soon as you can, then start adding user PINs.)
Once you have your PIN, accessing the drive is simple: Enter the PIN using the keypad on the driver’s face and press the Unlock button. The drive’s LED will blink, and the green light will remain on, indicating that the drive is now accessible. Press the Lock button (or disconnect the drive) to lock it again. You can also enable unattended auto-lock to lock the lock after several minutes of inactivity. It will also lock if your computer or other device goes to sleep or shuts down, so you may want to disable that on your system.
Creating a PIN is completely unintuitive; you must follow the steps in the five-page manual to create an Admin or User PIN, and you must follow them closely. Pressing the wrong buttons or pressing them out of order will mean starting over.
After you set up your PIN, be sure to remember it. Without it, there’s no way anyone (including you and the folks at iStorage) can access any data you’ve stored on the drive.
How safe is it?
The DiskAshur Pro2 SSD is solid, both physically and otherwise, and your data is as safe as if it were embedded in solid granite. There are many layers of security in the workplace.
The first and perhaps most obvious is the PIN setup we discussed. With ten digits on the keyboard, there are actually 10 billion possible PINs, and that’s excluding uppercase and lowercase letters that you can also choose to use. Anyone trying to guess the code will have to take a long, frustrating time — or it will if the drive doesn’t need to be pulled out and reconnected after five failed PIN attempts. If it happens twice more, DiskAshur will wipe itself clean, including all PINs and encryption keys.
The case is also hardened, certified to comply with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2. Among other things, FIPS 140-2 covers case tampering; Attempting to break into the drive physically will most likely destroy the case and the data storage medium.
If someone could somehow get into the case to access the SSD, they would find their data protected by AES-XTS real-time 256-bit hardware encryption. In other words, even if the data could be accessed, it would take many years of working with supercomputers to crack it. Let’s say that it’s very unlikely that someone can hack into your data. (Except maybe the NSA, and if the NSA is getting into your drive, you have bigger problems to worry about.)
The DiskAshur Pro2 SSD is as sturdy, tamper-proof, and secure as you’ll find in any consumer-grade storage device.
where can you get a iStorage DiskAshur Pro2 SSD online
iStorage diskAshur PRO2 SSD 256GB Secure solid state drive – FIPS Level 3 certified – Password protected, dust and water resistant, military grade hardware encryption IS-DAP2-256-SSD-256-C-X: Buy it now
iStorage diskAshur PRO2 SSD 1TB Secure portable solid-state drive – FIPS Level 2 certified – Password protected, dust & water resistant, military grade hardware encryption IS-DAP2-256-SSD-1000-C-G: Buy it now
iStorage diskAshur PRO2 HDD 4TB Secure Portable Hard Drive FIPS Level 3 Certified – Password Protected, dust and Water Resistant, Portable, Military Grade Hardware encryption.IS-DAP2-256-4000-C-X: Buy it now
Performance testing
Speed of throughput is not the main criteria of this drive; it’s all about security, and everything else is secondary. However, we ran the Pro2 through a few of our benchmarks and confirmed that it wouldn’t set any SSD speed records while it’s faster than a hard drive.
Crystal DiskMark
Crystal DiskMark is a popular open-source tool that measures sequential and random access on hard drives and SSDs mounted on Windows systems.
Overall, the DiskAshur Pro2 SSD was sluggish when external SSDs did, but it matched the other security-conscious drives we’ve tested from Apricorn and SecureData. These slower speeds can be attributed to their data encryption programs. 339MB/s read, and 332MB/s write beat both the equally secure Apricorn Aegis Fortress L3 and the insecure (but even more expensive) SecureData SecureDrive. It doesn’t match the read/write speeds of CalDigit Tuff Nano or SanDisk Extreme Pro drives, the much cheaper, somewhat rugged USB 3.1 Gen 2, but only on a physical level; they are not tough at the data level.
PCMark 7
PCMark 7 is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that attempts to mimic the typical workload of a home user. In this case, we used it to measure the capacity of secondary storage, and again, the performance of the iStorage SSD is below the pack.
Scores are close when comparing Pro2 with SecureDrive, but the remaining three points make DiskAshur go up in smoke. Speed is not what this SSD is all about. Again, this is part of the price you will pay for strong encryption.
So is it worth it?
For some use cases, the DiskAshur Pro2 SSD is definitely worth the $479 asking price (Amazon shoppers, enjoy your $9 discount) for the 1TB version. If you work in human resources, education, healthcare, security, IT, or government, this level of security may be required. Ditto if you are in a position that requires you to carry someone else’s personally identifiable information or if you own sensitive company data, intellectual property, or confidential information about its products or projects. In situations like these, the top consideration – perhaps the only thing considered – is security.
What about those who are not in such sensitive positions? Well, suppose you have money to spare. In that case, it can be — after all; you can carry data of great value to you, including tax documents, receipts, banking information, correspondence with individuals and businesses, etc. Although legally not required this level of protection, that data is still secure; you wouldn’t want to see it fall into the wrong hands. There’s no denying that the DiskAshur Pro2 SSD is an expensive piece of kit, but it can be a worthwhile investment for your peace of mind if your sensitive digital content has to be in a portable format.
Advantages
Multiple layers of physical and digital security
Includes zippered carrying case
Defect
High cost per gigabyte
Underrated read/write speed for SSD in test
Bulky, with a very short USB cable
No USB-C adapter included