datAshur PRO2

The datAshur PRO² is supplied in the ‘Initial Shipment State’ with no pre-set Admin PIN. A 7-15-digit Admin PIN must be configured before the drive can be used. Once an Admin PIN has been successfully configured, it is not possible to then switch the drive back to the ‘Initial Shipment State’.

To configure an Admin PIN and unlock the datAshur PRO² for the first time, please follow the steps below:

1. Press and hold down the SHIFT button for one second
2. Press and hold down both KEY + 1 buttons
3. Enter the new Admin PIN and press the KEY button once
4. Re-enter the new Admin PIN and press the KEY button again. The blue LED light will rapidly blink, then switch to a solid blue and finally to a blinking green LED light indicating the Admin PIN has been successfully configured and the drive is unlocked.

The datAshur PRO² requires a stable power supply in order to maintain its security functions. If the battery power output falls below 3.3V the datAshur PRO² will require a brief charge period of 15-30 mins. After this you can try to use the drive again and you should be able to enter your PIN and access your data.

To change the Admin PIN, first enter the “Admin Mode”. Proceed with the following steps:

1. Press and hold down the SHIFT button for one second
2. In Standby State (solid red LED light) press the KEY button once
3. With the green and blue LEDs blinking together, enter the Admin PIN and press the KEY button again
4. Press the KEY button three times within 2 seconds (KEY x 3). The blinking green LED will change to a solid blue LED indicating the device is in Admin mode.

Once the drive is in Admin Mode (solid blue LED light) proceed with the following steps:

1. In Admin mode press and hold down both the KEY + 2 buttons
2. Enter the new Admin PIN and press the KEY button
3. Re-enter the new Admin PIN and press the KEY button. The blinking green and solid blue LEDs change to a rapidly blinking blue LED and finally to a solid blue LED indicating the Admin PIN has been successfully changed.

Your datAshur PRO² has a built-in rechargeable battery. Even if the battery is fully discharged you can continue to use the drive by following the instructions below:

1. Connect the datAshur PRO² to any powered USB port
2. While connected, enter the User (SHIFT + KEY) or Admin PIN (KEY) to unlock the drive
3. While connected to the USB port, the internal battery will automatically charge – this is shown by a flashing blue LED light
4. We recommend you keep the datAshur PRO² connected for approximately 1 hour to fully charge the battery.

The internal battery used in the drive is used as a convenience to enter a PIN before you connect the drive. Therefore, if the battery is not recharging, you should be able to enter a PIN and unlock the drive whilst it’s connected to a USB port (although admin functions will not be available).

We recommend those who purchased the drive for personal use have just one PIN, whereas for those using the datAshur PRO² in a corporate environment we strongly suggest creating an Admin PIN and User PIN.

Admin mode allows you to:

• Recover data from the drive and configure a new User PIN in the event an employee has forgotten their PIN
• Retrieve data from the drive if an employee leaves the company
• Set policies such as ‘Read-Only’
• The Admin PIN can be used to override all user settings.

The datAshur PRO² has three independent brute-force counters. There are three different PINs that you can set on your datAshur PRO² device:

1. Admin PIN
2. User PIN
3. One-time recovery PIN

Each of these PINs have a separate brute-force counter that are independent from each other. For the Admin and User PINs this counter is 10 and for the one-time recovery PIN the brute-force counter is 5. This means that after 10 incorrect Admin or User PIN attempts the datAshur PRO² will reset itself. Once the drive is reset then all PINs, the encryption key and data will be permanently deleted, and the drive will need to be formatted before it can be reused.

Attention needs to be given to the buttons pressed before entering the PIN and to the LEDs lights indicating whether the drive is in user or admin mode. For example, the datAshur PRO² will reset if the correct User PIN is entered whilst the drive is in admin mode, or vice versa. Therefore, it is crucial to remember that even with the correct User PIN entry, the Admin PIN brute-force counter will not revert and will stay the same until the correct Admin PIN is entered.

If a user is by mistake trying to unlock the datAshur PRO² using the Admin PIN, the brute-force counter will continue to register the incorrect entry attempt. As these counters are independent, unlocking the drive using the User PIN will not clear the Admin PIN brute-force counter.

It is important to note that the LEDs behave differently depending on whether the user is attempting to access the drive using the Admin PIN or the User PIN. Below are the LED indicators and their actions:

1. Admin PIN entry: When the drive is in standby mode (red solid LED) and the Key button is pressed.

 

 

2. User PIN entry: When the drive is in standby mode (red solid LED) and both Key and Shift buttons are pressed together.

3. One-Time recovery PIN entry: When the drive is in standby mode (red solid LED) and both Key and 4 buttons are pressed together.

It is also essential to know that pressing the Key button will register an incorrect attempt, even if no PIN is entered.

Please do not hesitate to contact iStorage Support if you have any further queries. We’ll be delighted to assist you in the best possible way.

The datAshur PRO² can be configured to be bootable to accommodate power cycling during a host boot process. When booting from the datAshur PRO², you are running your computer with the OS that is installed on your datAshur PRO².

To switch your drive into the bootable mode please follow the below steps:

1. Switch your datAshur PRO2 into the Admin Mode by pressing…
2. In Admin Mode press and hold both KEY & ‘8’ buttons. This will cause both blue and green LEDs to blink
3. Now press ‘0’ followed by ‘1’
4. Now press the SHIFT button to confirm. The blinking blue and green LEDS will go to solid green and then solid blue. Your drive is now in a bootable mode.

Please note this setting also allows the drive to remain unlocked and connected should you wish to reboot your PC.

The datAshur PRO² is IP68 certified.

Dust tight: No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact.

Immersion beyond 1m: The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects.

If you forget the User PIN, you can use the Admin PIN to unlock the drive and set a new User PIN. However, if you forget both the User and Admin PIN, there is no way of gaining access to the data stored on the drive. As part of the drive’s designed security, there are no back doors into the drive. You will need to reset your datAshur PRO² in order to use it again. The reset process creates a new encryption key, deletes User and Admin PINs and deletes all data.

The reset feature is useful in case the User and Admin PINs are forgotten, or if you would like to delete all data stored on the drive and configure a new User PIN. The reset process will clear all cryptographic parameters including both User and Admin PINs. After a complete reset, a new Admin PIN must be configured and the datAshur PRO² will also need to be formatted before any new data can be added to the drive.

Please follow this procedure to reset your drive:

1. In standby state (solid red LED light), press and hold down “0” button. The solid red LED light will change to all three red, green and blue LEDs blinking alternately on and off
2. Press and hold down both 2 + 7 buttons. The red, green and blue alternating LEDs will become solid for a second and then to a solid red LED indicating the drive has been reset.

After the datAshur PRO² has been reset, the drive will be in standby state (solid red LED). To configure an Admin PIN, proceed with the following steps:

1. In Standby state (solid red LED), press and hold down both SHIFT + 1 buttons
2. Enter the new Admin PIN and press the KEY button
3. Re-enter the new Admin PIN and press the KEY button. The blinking green LED and solid blue LED change to blue LED rapidly blinking for a few seconds and then to a solid blue LED indicating the Admin PIN was successfully configured.

BadUSB is a theoretical exploit that was presented by SR Labs at the Black Hat conference in August 2014. SR Labs demonstrated a vulnerability in one USB device that allowed malicious code to be programmed into the USB controller through a firmware update process.

The attack described is very sophisticated and, in the case of iStorage products, would require advanced knowledge of our USB controller, a leaked version of our firmware, the programming tool to update our controller, the password used for our programming tool and an in-depth understanding of the device’s functionality.

According to SR Labs, the failsafe method to eliminate this threat is to simply disable the ability to update the controller’s firmware. Many of iStorage devices shipping today, including all our USB 3.0 security products, already have the firmware locked which prevents field updates to the USB controller.

As a continuous improvement, iStorage is locking down the firmware on all USB controllers used in iStorage devices to safeguard against this vulnerability. We recommend checking our website periodically for notices regarding BadUSB and Security Updates.

The datAshur PRO² comes in eight capacities: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. While Windows has no problem formatting the 8GB, 16GB and 32GB drives in the FAT32 file format system, the same is not true for the drive that goes over the 32GB threshold. Windows will only format the datAshur PRO² 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB in the NTFS or exFAT file format systems. To use the FAT32 file format you will have to use a third-party software.

The operating temperature range for datAshur PRO² is 0-45 °C, which has been tested and recommended for practical use.