These encrypted iStorage hard drives and flash drives are the ultimate peace of mind for your data

If data is worth saving to an external drive, shouldn't it also be important enough to protect?

Since setting up shop in the UK over a decade ago, iStorage has become one of the top makers of encrypted, easy to use and affordable portable data storage devices. And while not everyone needs multi-level security in place before someone accesses their files, iStorage products make steel-trap protection a standard feature in all of their flash drives, hard drives and even cloud services options.

datAshur PRO 256-bit Encrypted USB 3.0, 8GB Flash Drive – $70.95; originally $79

datAshur PRO² 256-bit Encrypted USB 3.2, 16GB Flash Drive – $79.95; originally $89

Flash drives usually live up to their name, used for quick data transportation and transfers. But that pocket-sized convenience has its security downsides as well, including vulnerability to malware, tampering, hacking or just outright theft. With the datAshur PRO and PRO², you get an assortment of protection measures to make sure no one compromises or steals your data ever. 

In addition to built-in full disk AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption, both models also feature keypad protection. Set a unique PIN of up to 15 digits — and without that PIN, no one gets to your information. The stick auto-locks the moment you unplug and with the brute force hack defense mechanism, all data permanently deletes with 10 incorrect login attempts. Better to be gone than fall into the wrong hands!

The PRO is available in sizes from 8GB to 128GB, while the PRO² with faster read and write speeds is available from 16GB to 512GB.

diskAshur2 PRO² SSD 256-bit Encrypted Solid-State Drive  – $148.95; originally $169

diskAshur2 PRO² HDD 256-bit Encrypted Hard Disk Drive – $179.95; originally $199

When it absolutely must be protected…and it's big, the diskAshur range of solid-state drives is ready to assist. It's got the same military-grade AES-XTS 256-bit encryption and coded keypad to shield all your data as the datAshur drives, plus truly spacious storage to accommodate virtually any files you need protected, regardless of size.

As with the datAshur models, data transfer speeds are the main differentiator here, with the HDD offering spaces up to a whopping 5TB, while the faster SSD version sports more limited capacity, but logs much faster transfers up to 361 MB/s read speed and up to 358 MB/s write speed.

With a lofty 4.5 out of 5 star rating among Amazon reviewers as well as the experts at PCMag saying these drives "could be the ultimate in secure storage," you can feel confident that iStorage has your back.

cloudAshur Encryption Module USB3 256-bit – $115.95; originally $129

But what if your data is in the cloud and out of your direct control? Most cloud providers actually hold the key to your encrypted data, but with cloudAshure, you can safely secure data yourself virtually anywhere you want to put it, from encrypting data locally on a Windows PC or Mac, on any portable data storage device, or even encrypting files shared via email or file-sharing software services. The key stays with you, making it virtually impossible for crooks to steal your data, even if they could access your cloud storage provider.

Prices are subject to change.

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