INTRODUCTION

   In the last 6 months alone, I’ve had not 1 but 4 cases of friends and colleagues who had sensitive data stolen from them just because they chose to store them inside plain (non-encryption) portable drives. Yes, all of them had backups but that data is now forever available to those who took them, if not many more if they decide to share or sell them. This is why I’ve always advised people with sensitive data to store them in hardware-encrypted portable drives and although I’m fully aware of the fact that they cost more compared to regular models (quite a bit more in some cases) at the end of the day i think the purchase of such a drive is a worthy investment. iStorage is without doubt among the leading manufacturers of hardware encrypted external drives in the world (probably the leading one in the EU) and so since many of you asked today with me i have their DiskAshur PRO2 4TB Pin Authenticated Portable SSD.

   iStorage is the trusted global leader of award-winning, PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted portable data storage & cloud encryption devices. iStorage offers the most innovative range of products to securely encrypt, store and protect data to military standards; safeguarding valuable and sensitive data to ensure compliance with stringent regulations and directives such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, NRC, GLB and DHS Initiatives. Founded in London, England in 2009 by John Michael, a serial entrepreneur, with 32 years’ experience within the IT Industry, iStorage has fast become recognised as a leading innovator and supplier of ultra-secure, easy to use and affordable portable data storage devices.

   This is the 3rd DiskAshur PRO2 model to reach our lab and just like the other two models we’re yet again talking about a tamper-proof (protected against brute attacks, external tamper, bypass laser attacks and fault injections) PIN authenticated ((platform/device independent / 7-15 digit codes) USB 3.1 portable drive (currently available in 500GB/1TB/2TB/3TB/4TB/5TB for the HDD line and 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB for the SSD line) that features real-time military grade FIPS PUB 197 validated AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption (FIPS 140-2 Level 2/NCSC CPA/NLNCSA BSPA/NATO Restricted Certified) and an built-in dedicated hardware based secure microprocessor (Common Criteria EAL4+ ready - defends the drive against external tamper, bypass laser attacks and fault injections). Other safety/security measures include an epoxy covered keypad (makes it virtually impossible for people to tell which have been used), super tough epoxy resin layer applied onto the interior hardware components (virtually impossible to remove without causing severe damage) and an IP56 certified enclosure (dust and water resistant). Last time we had a DiskAshur PRO2 Portable SSD model it was based on the ADATA SU800 2.5” SSD (Silicon Motion SM2258 NAND controller with 3D TLC NAND), todays model however is based on the Samsung 860 QVO 2.5” SSD (Samsung MJX NAND controller with V-NAND).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The front of the black box has a large product picture placed next to the main product features and a sticker with the capacity and type of the included drive.

The serial number, barcode and product capacity are all printed on a sticker placed on the left side of the box.

On the right side we find a drawing of compatible devices and several drawings showcasing the bundle contents.

Turning the box around we see the complete product features and specifications list printed in 5 languages.

As with previous models the drive is wrapped inside bubble wrap and placed in a formed piece of cardboard for optimal protection.

Along with the diskAshur PRO2 Portable SSD iStorage also packs a carrying/storage case, ESET DriveSecurity and NERO BackItUp license paper, product disclaimer paper and a quick start guide.

THE DISKASHUR PRO2 4TB SSD

The 180g heavy diskAshur PRO2 4TB Portable SSD measures 124mm in length, 84mm in width and 28mm in height.

To have a better idea about its size i placed the diskAshur PRO2 4TB Portable SSD right next to the diskAshur2 1TB Portable SSD, the SECUREDATA KP 1TB and BT 2TB SSDs, the Silicon Power Bolt B75 Pro 1TB SSD and the Crucial X8 1TB SSD.

As always located at the top of the enclosure are the epoxy coated keypad and 3 LEDs (locked/unlocked/activity).

An integrated USB cable is stored on the right side of the enclosure (unfortunately the cable is somewhat short so you will probably need an USB extension cable).

4 small rubber feet and a sticker with the capacity, serial number, company URL and several certifications are placed at the bottom of the drive.

Here we see a picture of the 860 QVO 4TB SSD by Samsung used in this version of the diskAshur PRO2.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Solid state drives are basically the same as USB flash drives and so we’re using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record achieved read & write performance numbers in our charts*. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read / Write speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Titanium 2020 (Read / Write speeds), AIDA64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear / Random Read & Write speeds), Crystal Disk Mark 6.0.2 (2GB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO 4.00.0F2 (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

   All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro installation on a CORSAIR MP510 960GB NVME SSD* with all updates installed up to the day we started tests.

* Since August 2019 for portable SSD tests I started using our primary test rig.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA TITANIUM / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

CONCLUSION

   As you can all easily tell from our charts even though the diskAshur PRO2 4TB PIN Authenticated Portable SSD offers plenty of storage capacity it’s far from the fastest of its kind, mainly because iStorage is still using 2.5” drives. Of course, data transfer speeds surpassing 250-300MB/s are still very fast and should still be more than plenty for the majority of users out there but i suspect iStorage is not far from introducing their first M.2 NVMe based PIN authenticated portable SSDs to cover the needs of the more demanding ones. Performance aside however how does the diskAshur PRO2 4TB SSD do in terms of hardware encryption? Well as usual we did our best to try and force access to the drive (both via software and workarounds) without luck. However, since we are not hackers, we can only rely on the various certifications these drives have been getting from government and private agencies and organizations which do employ such personnel.

   PIN authenticated portable SSDs are always quite expensive and that also applies for the diskAshur PRO2 4TB SSD model by iStorage since it currently retails for USD1346.38 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 1231Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Since the Samsung 860 QVO 4TB SSD alone retails for around USD500/450Euros however this was never going to be a low-cost model (the slower, yet equally high capacity 4TB Portable HDD model however is). With that out of the way however if you’re looking for plenty of storage capacity, very good read/write performance levels and hardware encryption second to none the diskAshur PRO2 4TB SSD model by iStorage was made with you in mind and for that it gets 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 (For A 2.5” Portable SSD)
- Hardwired USB Cable
- Available In 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB Capacities
- HDD & SSD Models
- Epoxy Coated Keypad (Wear Resistant)
- DriveSecurity & NERO BackItUp Software License
- Bundled Carrying/Storage Case

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- USB Cable Length