INTRODUCTION

   Even though secure storage drives are primarily aimed towards industry professionals and government employees who can't afford to have their sensitive data fall into the wrong hands it's a safe bet that most consumers also have data they'd like to keep private. Unfortunately due to the niche "nature" of these drives most consumers out there are unaware of them and that's something I’ve verified over the last couple of years after discussing about them not only with family members and friends but also friends of friends and random people I get to meet in various shows (even some of our readers from time to time). iStorage is the leading manufacturer of PIN authenticated secure drives and since we've really enjoyed testing and using several of their products in the past today we'll be testing yet another one out, the brand new datAshur PRO2 256GB USB 3.2 Gen 1 Hardware Encrypted Flash Drive.

   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.

   According to iStorage the brand new datAshur PRO2 line of hardware encrypted flash drives (currently available in 4/8/16/32/64/128/256/512GB capacities - OS & platform independent) not only features an entirely new design but it's also largely improved compared to the previous datAshur PRO line. So leaving out the new USB 3.2 Gen 1 classification which is the latest way of saying USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2 is the new name for USB 3.1 Gen 2 and there's also a brand new USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 classification for 20Gbps drives - yes the USB implementers forum has been busy, again) the brand new datAshur PRO2 is not only available in higher capacities (up to 512GB) but it also sports an IP58 certified housing (dust and waterproof beyond 1 meter depth - the datAshur PRO was IP57 certified and thus waterproof up to 1 meter), zinc alloy lanyard, extra shift key (via which you can use special characters for your PIN) and a common criteria EAL4+ ready secure microprocessor (defends the drive against external tamper, bypass laser attacks and fault injections – up until now only the diskAshur line had this feature). Everything else however remains pretty much the same so once again the drive is secured with real-time military grade FIPS PUB 197 validated AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption (FIPS 140-2 Level 3, NCSC CPA, NLNCSA BSPA & NATO restricted level certified) via PIN authentication (7-15 digits in length / supports independent Admin, User and even self-destruct PINs) and features a built-in 3.7v lithium-polymer rechargeable battery, tamper-proof super tough epoxy resin coating placed on its internal components and a polymer coated (water resistant) alphanumeric keypad. Of course, the datAshur PRO2 can be set to auto-lock (the drive can be set to lock after a predetermined amount of time) and read-only mode and is protected against brute force attacks so after 10 consecutive incorrect Admin PIN entries all data stored in the drive are securely erased (however after 10 consecutive incorrect user PIN entries you can still use the Admin PIN to access the drive). Just like with the datAshur PRO iStorage also allows you to personalize the datAshur PRO2 by laser etching your name, logo and/or message on the aluminum cover (top/sides) and covers the entire datAshur PRO2 family of secure USB 3.2 Gen 1 flash drives with a 3-year limited warranty and free lifetime support.