This article a part of the Quick Takes series, designed to give readers a quick overview of a product or service of interest. It is not designed to be a comprehensive review, but rather an informational piece that draws reader’s attention to something that I’ve recently taken a look at that interested me enough to share it with you.

datAshur Pro, A Safe, Secure USB Drive

USB Flash drives are convenient and portable, but they do pose a security risk for financial advisors. As an advisor, you have access to a lot of sensitive information, including personally identifiable information (PII) of your clients. If you carry PII on a flash drive, and you lose it, you are required to report the loss. It is also likely that the loss will adversely impact your clients, and if it does, you will most likely be liable. Even if PII is not present, there can still be other confidential information on a drive that you and your employer would prefer remain private.

Even if you have a USB drive with software encryption, it may be vulnerable to attack by hackers if they have sufficient time and the proper equipment

There is, however, a USB drive that can keep all of your confidential information secure when used properly. It is called the datAshur Pro USB 3.0 drive. It features military grade XTS-AES 256-bit hardware encryption, a read only (write protected) feature, a user configurable timeout lock plus brute force hack detection and prevention. This means that the datAsher PRO is designed to secure data from unauthorized access, even when lost or stolen.

The drive has received Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 level 3 accreditation. The FIPS are a set of standards that describe document processing, encryption algorithms and other information technology standards for use within non-military government agencies and by government contractors and vendors who work with the agencies.

The datAsher PRO includes an onboard keypad for authentication. It can only be accessed by entering a 7-15-digit PIN code before connecting to a USB port. As soon as the device is unplugged from the port or the power goes off, the device autolocks.

The loss of USB flash drives is a real problem. According to a recent survey by ESET, 22,000 USB flash drives are left in dry cleaners in the UK each year, and only 53% are returned to owners. That’s just drives lost in the UK at dry cleaners!

The device is compatible with most popular operating systems including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Chrome, thin clients and embedded systems.

Pricing is high compared to unencrypted drives, but reasonable for the security. Prices range from 69 British pounds ($89 at current rates) for an 8 GB model to 129 pounds ($161) for a 64 GB model.

If you need to transport data securely on a flash drive, a datAshur USB drive is a solid investment.