INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   One of the most serious issues storage media manufacturers have had to face over the years is data security and although most consumers may not be aware of this there's a whole industry for people who need that especially for professionals and government employees working with sensitive/critical data. Still professionals and government employees are not the only ones who may need the extra security for their data and so more and more manufacturers equip their products with several different types of data encryption (both software and hardware based) with AES 256-bit hardware encrypted drives enjoying one of the top spots. One thing you got to love however about the storage industry is that there are always new and more innovative ways for people to secure their critical/sensitive data and iStorage with their diskAshur 2 line of USB 3.1 Portable Encrypted Hard Drives might have what you've been looking for.

   iStorage is the trusted global leader of award winning PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted data storage devices. Delivering the most innovative products to securely store and protect data to military specified encryption levels; safeguarding valuable business information whilst ensuring compliance to regulations and directives.

   As iStorage clearly states in their website the diskAshur 2 is a PIN authenticated portable USB 3.1 hard drive with real-time military grade FIPS PUB 197 validated AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption meaning things don't get much better than this when it comes to data safety. That's not all however since the diskAshur 2 also features a dedicated hardware based secure microprocessor (Common Criteria EAL4+ ready) which basically defends the drive against external tamper, bypass laser attacks and fault injections. Surprisingly enough however iStorage takes things to a whole new level since not only are brute force attacks also covered (after a total of 15 consecutive incorrect PIN entries the data stored in the drive is simply put wiped out) but the interior of the drive is covered by a layer of super tough epoxy resin which is virtually impossible to remove without causing severe damage to the components (drive included). As for the PIN feature of the drive you can use your very own combination (between 7 and 15 digits) and in case you've been watching too many movies you should also know that iStorage has coated the keypad with epoxy (wear resistant) making it impossible for people to know which buttons have been used mostly. As for capacities the IP56 certified (dust and water resistant) enclosure of the diskAshur 2 is currently available either with an 2.5" HDD (500GB/1TB/2TB/3TB/4TB/5TB) or an 2.5" SSD (128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB) and can be found in 4 different colors (Phantom Black, Ocean Blue, Fiery Red and Racing Green) for all tastes.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the front of the box iStorage has placed their logo, product picture, capacity included and a list of the main product features.

 

 

A drawing of compatible devices is placed on the left side of the box along with the bundle contents.

 

 

Both the product features and specifications are printed at the rear in 5 languages.

 

 

You can check the included enclosure color along with the serial number and barcode from the right side of the box.

 

 

The entire bundle is safely wrapped inside bubble wrap.

 

 

Along with the diskAshur 2 drive the box also contains a carrying/storage case, NERO BackItUp software license, iStorage DriveSecurity software license and the quick start guide.

 

 

THE DISKASHUR 2 1TB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bundled carrying/storage case is quite thick and with enough room for just the diskAshur 2 drive.

 

 

Measuring 124mm in length, 84mm in width and 19mm in height/thickness the diskAshur 2 is quite compact.

 

 

To have a better understanding about its size we placed it right next to the A85 2TB PHD by Silicon Power.

 

 

The 13-key keypad is placed at the top of the enclosure right beneath three activity LEDs (lock status).

 

 

A USB cable is hardwired into the enclosure and stored on the left side.

 

 

Unfortunately the cable is rather short (roughly 120mm) and so we do hope iStorage either uses a longer one in future versions or provide an extension in the bundle.

 

 

At the base of the enclosure we find 4 small rubber feet and a sticker pointing to the encryption specifications of the product.

 

 

Under the hood of the diskAshur 2 1TB we find the Seagate ST1000LM035 Mobile HDD (SATA III/5400RPM/128MB Cache/7mm thick).

 

 

DRIVESECURITY SOFTWARE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iStorage provides you with a license for their very own DriveSecurity software which is powered by ESET (NOD32) and basically prevents malware from infecting your USB drive (automatically scans, detects and eliminates Viruses, Spyware, Trojans, Worms, Rootkits, Adware and other Internet threats before they can be transmitted to your USB drive).

You can download the program from their page as seen above (just click on the Windows or MAC highlighted text to do so).

 

 

After that you just need to run it, point it to your diskAshur 2 drive (needs to be plugged and unlocked) and enter the license key you found in the bundle (since the program is stored on the drive that’s all you need to do).

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Keeping things simple so even people new in the field of computers can understand will always be our way so once again our testing procedure is almost exactly the same as the one we use with 2.5/3.5" external docking stations. This time however we will be comparing the product at hand with a wide range of 2.5" portable drives and standalone 2.5" enclosures all of which were benched using a HGST 7K750 SATA II hard disk drive. Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers are recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro with every update installed up to August 10th 2018.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – TEMPERATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Hardware encrypted drives is something we see quite a lot mainly because most SSDs currently in the market (if not all) feature AES 256bit hardware encryption. Still although this is the case with SSDs the same doesn’t apply to HDDs (especially not-enterprise grade models) and even if that wasn’t the case there’s a huge difference between a drive which uses hardware encryption in general and a drive which can encrypt and decrypt all data at the push of a few buttons. This is where iStorage comes in and although I imagine for the majority of consumers out there the diskAshur 2 may not seem necessary there are countless people who need it whether its professionals and government employees who don’t want their critical data falling into the wrong hands or even plain everyday people who may want to safeguard their family pictures as much as possible. Performance is also very good and easily competes with some of the fastest 2.5” PHDs we’ve tested to date something which I have to admit we didn’t expect to this extend (not from such a device). We also tested the Brute Force feature of the drive and just like iStorage mentions after 15 failed input attempts data was wiped out and completely unrecoverable (at least via our means). Unfortunately although we welcome the IP56 certification of the enclosure we were hoping for something just a tad better and although we do realize that the existence of a keypad makes things a bit tricky (in terms of getting a higher certification) we do hope iStorage comes up with a solution in future models (perhaps an reinforced/hidden compartment?).

   Enterprise-grade devices always tend to cost more compared to their consumer-grade counterparts especially when we’re talking about enterprise-grade devices with no equal in the consumer-grade market. The diskAshur 2 line of PIN authenticated portable USB 3.1 hard drives falls in that exact category and so currently even the 1TB model retails for USD305 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 240Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Agreed price is somewhat high but let’s keep in mind that the target audience of a product like the diskAshur 2 line by iStorage are professionals and government employees rather than casual consumers and for them cost comes second to data security. Overall the DiskAshur 2 1TB PIN authenticated portable USB 3.1 hard drive delivers on everything iStorage promises and for that it receives our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (IP56 Certified Enclosure)
- PIN Authenticated
- Security Measures (AES-XTS 256-bit Hardware Encryption/EDGE Chip/Interior Epoxy Layer)
- Very Good Performance
- Hardwired USB Cable
- Available In 500GB/1TB/2TB/3TB/4TB/5TB
- HDD & SSD Models
- Epoxy Coated Keypad (Wear Resistant)
- DriveSecurity & NERO BackItUp Software License

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- USB Cable Length