The Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD is a high-security SATA-based drive with gold-standard encryption, but it lacks the ruggedization and additional security certifications of some competitors.
A remake of a secure solid-state drive that Apricorn has sold since 2010, the latest Aegis Padlock SSD offers enhanced speed and security in capacities ranging up to 4TB.
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The DataLocker DL4 FE external SSD has all the security features and certifications to satisfy rigorous corporate and governmental criteria to guarantee the protection of secret or sensitive data. Simply put, no unauthorized person will be able to breach its encryption and other safeguards, and if it were to be lost or stolen, the drive can be remotely disabled and wiped clean. It s slow (as SSDs go) and on the pricey side even for a security-centric drive. (It starts at $679, for the 1TB model tested here.) But those are at best secondary considerations when impervious information security matters most. It s a particularly good choice for corporations and government agencies buying multiple secure drives, as it can be integrated into DataLocker s fleet-management system.
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The DiskAshur M2 from iStorage (starts at $142 for 120GB, $275 for the 1TB version we tested) excels at the primary mission of any security-focused SSD: making sure that no unauthorized person can ever get their hands on your data. It succeeds thanks to hardware encryption, PIN authentication, and what is, in effect, a self-destruct mechanism should anyone breach its housing. This SSD repels the elements, too, impervious to water and dust, and it s shockproof and crushproof. Like most security-centric external SSDs, the M2 isn t particularly fast as SSDs go, and you do pay a premium for its protective features, but it’s not as dear as many similarly equipped SSDs we have 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.