iStorage DiskAshur M2: A Wealth of Security Features

The DiskAshur M2 from iStorage excels at the primary mission of any security-focused SSD: making sure that no unauthorized person can ever get their hands on your data.

- TONY HOFFMAN

It succeeds thanks to hardware encryption, PIN authentication, and what is, in effect, a self-destruct mechanism should anyone breach its housing. This SSD is impervious to water and dust, and it’s shockproof and crushproof. Like most security-centric external SSDs, the M2 isn’t particularly fast, and you pay a premium for its protective features, but it’s not as dear as many similarly equipped SSDs we’ve reviewed. That fact and the feature set tip the scales in favor of the DiskAshur M2 as our latest Editors’ Choice winner for secure external SSDs.

BOXES WITHIN BOXES

Unboxing the M2 proved an apt visual metaphor for the drive’s security—simply getting to the product was like opening a set of Russian nesting dolls. It arrives in a 6.5-by-4.5-by-2-inch cardboard box, illustrated with pictures of the drive and its case and providing brief descriptions of key features. When you open the box, in addition to finding a quick-start guide and two cables, you see a cardboard cradle that holds a hard-plastic carrying case—imprinted with the iStorage name—that contains the drive. The case has a looped strap for easy carrying, and it unzips to reveal a black slab, also stamped with the product name, with a silver base.

This monolith is a sleeve that protects the drive. When you pull the sleeve and (tightly fitting) base apart, the DiskAshur M2 reveals itself as a slightly smaller black rectangle measuring 4.2 by 1.8 by 0.48 inches (HWD). An alphanumeric keypad with three status lights adorns its side. As with most external SSDs, you never see the actual drive mechanism—in fact, if you were to break open the M2 to get to the chips and the PCB inside, it would be damaged beyond repair. It’s designed to be physically uncrackable.