INTRODUCTION

   Whenever i talk about secure hardware encrypted drives people tend to think that such products were only designed for industry experts and government workers who are always worried that someone may get illegal access to their sensitive data. This however isn't quite the case, yes, such devices were indeed at first primarily developed for use in these two areas but over the years their target audience expanded to a point that currently includes even regular consumers who just want a safe storage media for their work and/or private moments. So, if you'd be interested in such a device leaving out the obvious requirements such as capacity, size and media format (flash drive/HDD/SSD) the only remaining question would be which type to get, password, keypad or Bluetooth based? It's been well over a year since i had the chance to review the very good SECUREUSB KP (keypad) USB flash drive by SECUREDATA so after some of you asked i decided to also test their BT (Bluetooth) model.

   SECUREDATA, Inc. is a privately held company, headquartered in California, USA. SecureData offers a range of tailored high-level data protection capabilities through a set of services and products. These include hardware encrypted portable storage devices, backup solutions, file repair software, data recovery, and digital forensics services to help clients achieve their security objectives. SecureData has a presence through its partners in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia, and South America, and serves companies and organizations in regulated industries, such as government, financial services, military, law enforcement, legal, healthcare, and education. More information regarding the SECUREDATA products line can be found at securedrive.com.

   What makes the SECUREUSB BT (currently available in 8/16/32/64GB capacities) standout from other hardware encrypted drives is that instead of directly inputting a password or a PIN number for user authentication it connects with your smartphone and/or tablet via Bluetooth and gets unlocked via the DataLock Android/iOS mobile app. This may not seem as "simple" (at first) as just typing your password or using the keypad to input your PIN but for people who have a hard time remembering passwords (of people who just don't want to take any chances in that regard) this is actually very convenient. The SECUREUSB BT drive also features an IP57 certified aluminum housing (dust protection and up to 1m of submersion under water), interior covered in tough epoxy resin (makes it nearly impossible to recover components), FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated military grade AES-XTS 256-bit full drive hardware encryption (GDPR compliant), dedicated hardware based crypto microprocessor which protects the drive against brute-force attacks (data in the drive is erased after the wrong password is entered a total of 10 times), bad USB protection mode (cuts off the drive completely from USB access until authorization is granted by the mobile app), read only mode and remote management (subscription service which includes Geofencing, Remote Data Wipe, Time Fencing, Password Reset & more). Last but not least SECUREDATA covers the entire SECUREUSB BT line of flash drives with a 3-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKACING AND CONTENTS

The SECUREUSB BT USB 3.0 flash drive is shipped inside a blister package which allows you to see the drive and check its main features from the front.

At the rear of the blister package you can see the 2D barcode of the product through a small opening.

The blister package contains just the SECUREUSB BT USB 3.0 flash drive and the quick start guide.

THE SECUREUSB BT 64GB

The SECUREUSB BT 64GB is a compact drive that weighs just 16g and measures 56mm in length, 20mm in width and 10mm in thickness.

To have a better idea of just how small the SECUREUSB BT drive is i placed it right next to the Sentry K300 by DataLocker, DatAshur PRO2/CloudAshur/DatAshur PRO by iStorage, SECUREUSB KP again by SECUREDATA and the IronKey D300S by Kingston.

The enclosure has a lanyard opening at the rear and an activity LED right over it.

At the rear of the enclosure we find the 2D barcode and the serial and part numbers.

The device ID number is printed on the USB plug and this is what you'll need to register the drive with the DataLock app.

DATALOCK APP

The DataLock app is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Once you install it and turn Bluetooth connectivity the app will detect the SECUREUSB BT flash drive (as long as it's plugged in a USB port) after which you'll need to input the digits located on the USB plug.

The default password is 11223344 so that's also what you will need to input the very first time you will unlock the drive.

You now have access to the drive itself so when you see the unlocked icon you can press on it to enter the settings page.

From here you can change the name of the drive, change the password, enable/disable 2FA (factor authentication), recover your password, keep the password stored into the app, enable/disable touch ID (if supported by your device), set the inactivity autolock timer, enable/disable the step away auto-lock feature, set read only for the drive contents, reset the drive settings to their factory presets and remotely wipe all data.

App version used in this review was v7.4 so future ones may add more features.

Also, worth mentioning is that included in the drive is the USB to CLOUD software (for Windows).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since flash drives are basically plain storage media devices just like solid state drives and hard disk drives, we are using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record the achieved performance numbers. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read / Write speeds - some drives can't be tested for write performance), AIDA 64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear Read / Random Read speeds), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB-1000MB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO (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 HyperX Predator 480GB PCIe SSD with all updates installed up to the date of this review. As always for comparison purposes in the charts you will also find many other flash drivers which have been tested using the same exact test bench as the one in this review (we really can't keep every flash drive we get forever and also even if we could test them all again and again would simply not be possible).

* As of November 2020, secure USB flash drives have their own charts (also added write performance levels) for a more "direct" and "easy" comparison between similar models.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

CONCLUSION

   Just like with the SECUREDRIVE BT which I reviewed over a year ago the SECUREUSB BT is not only more compact compared to its KP (keypad) brothers (and counterparts) but it’s also the ideal solution for people who either don’t want to rely on having to remember a password/PIN or who just want easy access at the push of a button (or in this case a touch screen). Yes, there’s always the possibility of someone gaining access to your smartphone/tablet and in turn to the SECUREUSB BT but you can always opt to not store the password/PIN in the app if you’re afraid of something like that happening. As for encryption strength as always, I did use several brute force utilities to try and gain access to the drive at hand unsuccessfully. Again, however I am not a hacker/cracker so I can only rely on ready programs and of course I have no reason to dispute all the security certifications given to such products by both government agencies and independent organizations.

   The SECUREUSB BT 64GB USB Flash Drive by SECUREDATA currently retails for USD169 inside the USA (Amazon.com) a price tag which puts it roughly around the same price range as other similar models. There are two issues however with this specific product, global availability (currently at least) and available capacities since 64GB is as high as it gets (again, currently). Both mean that several potential customers may get left out and so I do hope SECUREDATA takes all the necessary steps to resolve them. With that out of the way however the SECUREUSB BT is yet another state of the art secure drive which should cover a large number of people out there and since it works as advertised it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (IP57 Certified Aluminum Enclosure)
- Bluetooth Wireless Authentication
- Security Measures (AES-XTS 256bit Hardware Encryption/FIPS 140-2 Level 3/Crypto Chip/Interior Epoxy Layer)
- Good Performance
- Compact Size
- Remote Management (Requires Subscription)
- 3 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Availability Outside The USA
- Requirements (Android / iOS Device)
- Only Available in 8/16/32/64GB