Would you like your data storage to be completely secure? Are you looking for an encrypted SSD that will give you peace of mind?
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is the iStorage diskAshur M2 – Data Encryption Drive.
What is it?
The iStorage diskAshur M2 is a PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted USB 3.2 portable Solid State Disk (SSD) Hard Disk Drive.
How much does it cost?
The iStorage diskAshur M2 starts at £154 for a 120GB version.
A Portal PIN Authenticated Encrypted SSD
One of the The Lessons I Learned from Losing my Laptop Computer was that while losing a device is annoying, the real cost of the loss can be counted in the data contained on that device that may have fallen into the wrong hands.
A while back I reviewed the iStorage diskAshur2 – The Fort Knox of Hard Drives and now the team at iStorage are back with the M2 range of encrypted SSD drives.
The iStorage diskAshur M2 uses an encrypted Solid State Disk (SSD) which means it benefits from ultra-fast transfer speeds.
The unit itself is only 12mm thick, and utilises AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption.
What this means is that any data you store on the drive benefits from military-grade data security, and won’t be accessible to prying eyes.
The M2 is also rugged, with shock/crush proofing and IP68 water and dust resistant rating.
All the components of the diskAshur M2 are completely covered by a layer of super tough epoxy resin, which is virtually impossible to remove without causing permanent damage to the components.
In other words, this encrypted SSD is one tough drive!
In day-to-day use, the M2 acts as a normal portable SSD drive that you plug in via USB A or C cable (both types of cable are included).
Unlike Bitlocker and other Windows-specific encryption systems, the M2 encrypted SSD is operating system (O/S) and host independent. This means it will work with any O/S including Apple Mac, iPad, Windows, Linux, Chrome, Android, and even thin clients and embedded systems.
You simply plug the drive in, and then enter a 7-15 digit PIN to authenticate and use the data on the drive.
If the drive is disconnected from the host, all the data is encrypted and cannot be read without the PIN.
The PIN is user configurable and the M2 series features some interesting additional security features including:-
- Admin configurable with Independent User and admin PIN. Useful for IT departments and Managed Service Providers in situations where the user has forgotten their PIN.
- Brute Force Protection. The unit will block multiple wrong PIN attempts.
Out of the box, the M2 comes with a carry case and everything you need to get started immediately.
Setting up your initial PIN takes a couple of minutes, and you’re (rightly) prevented from using sequential (2345678) or repeating (111111) numbers.
I’m continuously impressed with the quality of iStorage’s products.
If you value your data (and you should) then the iStorage diskAshur M2 encrypted SSD will give you real peace of mind. It’s a very well thought out and secure piece of kit.
How can I get it?
You can buy from Amazon iStorage diskAshur M2 1TB – PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted USB 3.2 portable SSD. Ultra-fast, FIPS compliant, Rugged & Portable.
To find out more visit the iStorage (UK) website.
You can also follow @iStorage_Ltd on Twitter, visit the iStorage Ltd Facebook page, or follow iStorage Limited on LinkedIn.
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Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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